__FORCETOC__ The 1972 Australia rugby union tour of New Zealand and Fiji was a series of thirteen rugby union matches, including three tests, played by the

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...

in New Zealand, plus a one-off test match played by the

against the

Fijians Fijians () are a nation and ethnic group Indigenous peoples of Oceania, native to Fiji, who speak Fijian language, Fijian and English language, English and share a common history and culture. Fijians, or ''iTaukei'', are the major indigenous ...

in Fiji. The tour took place in August and September 1972. The test series in New Zealand was won by the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

with three wins from three matches. The test match in Fiji was won by the

Results

''Scores and results list Australia's points tally first.''

Squad leadership

The Wallaby squad was captained by Greg Davis described by Howell as ''"a leader of men who believed a leader should lead....a single minded flanker who gave no quarter and asked for none"''.Howell p189 Davis was making his seventh and final overseas tour with the Wallabies, his third as captain. Howell writes that for Davis at 33 years and the end of a magnificent career, the seven loss & five win result of the tour was "a disaster and occasioned Davis' retirement".Howell p192 An injury picked up in New Zealand prevented Davis from leading the side in the Test match in Fiji on the way home. Peter Sullivan led the Wallabies to a narrow 21-19 victory against Fiji. He had already captained Australia in two mid-week games during the New Zealand leg. The third Test in New Zealand, a 38-3 romp by the

was Greg Davis' last match. Joe French was the tour manager. Bob Templeton was the team's coach who carried the traditional touring title of Assistant Manager.

Touring party

*Manager - Joe French *Assistant manager - Bob Templeton *Captain - Greg Davis

Backs

* Dave Burnet * John Cole * John Cornes *

Russell Fairfax Russell Lance Fairfax (born 29 March 1952) is an Australian former rugby union and rugby league player. A precocious talent, he played his first rugby international while still at school. Having played eight tests for the Wallabies, he moved to ...

Gary Grey Gareth Owen Grey (born 29 September 1947) is an Australian former rugby union international. Grey was born in Kiama, New South Wales and educated at Hurlstone Agricultural College. A diminutive scrum-half, Grey gained five caps for the Wallabi ...

* David L'Estrange * Arthur McGill * Jeff McLean * David Rathie * Geoff Richardson *

Peter Rowles Peter George Rowles (born 18 November 1952) is an Australian former rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. In union he represented Australia and in league he played in the NSWRFL Premiership for ...

John Taylor John Taylor, Johnny Taylor or similar is the name of: Academics *John Taylor (Oxford), Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, 1486–1487 * John Taylor (classical scholar) (1704–1766), English classical scholar *John Taylor (English publisher) ...

Forwards

* Bruce Brown * Dick Cocks * Greg Davis *

Garrick Fay Garrick Fay (born 11 April 1948 in Sydney, Australia) is an Australian businessman and former international rugby player. Garrick was a member of the Australian national team from 1971-79. International rugby career Garrick Fay began his inte ...

* Mick Freney * Tony Gelling * Jake Howard * Roy Prosser * Reg Smith * Barry Stumbles * Peter Sullivan * Robert Thompson * Robert Wood

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1972 Australia rugby union tour of New Zealand and Fiji

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Australia national rugby union team tours of New Zealand Australia national rugby union team tours of Fiji

tour Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...

1972 in Fijian rugby union