The 1986 New Zealand rugby league tour of Australia and Papua New Guinea was a tour by the

New Zealand national The New Zealand National Party (), often shortened to National () or the Nats, is a centre-right political party in New Zealand that is the current senior ruling party. It is one of two major parties that dominate contemporary New Zealand po ...

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

team. Test matches were played in New Zealand, Australia and Papua New Guinea. The tour began on 6 July in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

and finished on 17 August in

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...

, consisted of five

test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Indoor cricket, Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (associa ...

, with two of them counting towards the 1985-88 World Cup. After having lost 18–0 to the Kiwis at

Carlaw Park Carlaw Park was a multi-purpose stadium in Parnell, a central suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It neighboured the Auckland Domain's Northern end. It was primarily used for rugby league and had a peak spectator capacity of around 28,000 in the 19 ...

in the 3rd test of the 1985 series, Australia won the 1986 series 3–0. New Zealand then continued their tour to Papua New Guinea. In Papua New Guinea they won the first test against

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

36–26. They then lost the second test match 22–24, a match which counted towards the 1988 World Cup.

Squads

Australia

Australia was coached for the first time by 1956–57 Kangaroo Tourist

Don Furner Don Furner (26 December 1932 – 24 February 2020) was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. As a player, he represented Queensland on nine occasions and also toured with the 1956–57 Kangaroos. He began his coaching career as a pl ...

Wally Lewis Walter James Lewis AM (born 1 December 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He became a commentator for television coverage of the sp ...

was the captain of the team with

Wayne Pearce Wayne John Pearce (born 29 March 1960 in Balmain, New South Wales) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. A for the Balmain Tigers, he was known as Junior. Pearce represented New South Wales in the State of Or ...

the team vice captain. The players used by Australia in the series was: Wally Lewis ( Wynnum Manly) (c), Wayne Pearce ( Balmain) (vc),

Noel Cleal Noel Harvey "Crusher" Cleal (born 16 October 1958) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. A destructive for the Manly Sea Eagles, he also represented New South Wales in the State of Origin Series and the Austra ...

( Manly Warringah),

Steve Folkes Steven John Folkes (30 January 1959 – 27 February 2018) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and coach of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League. He represented both New South Wales and Australia Pla ...

(

Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in Inner South-Western Sydney. The region is located to the north of the St George region (from which it is separated by Wolli Creek) and to the south of the Inner West region ...

Garry Jack Garry Jack (born 14 March 1961) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a representative in the Australian national team and star player with the Balmain Tigers. Jack was a for the Tigers during the late 1980s, and ea ...

(Balmain),

Brett Kenny Brett "Bert" Edward Kenny (born 16 March 1961) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He was a and for the Australian national team and New South Wales Blues representative sides, and ...

(

Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

Les Kiss Les Kiss (born 9 December 1964) is an Australian former rugby league coach and player and professional rugby union coach who is the current head coach of Super Rugby Pacific side the Queensland Reds. Prior to this he was head coach of London I ...

(

North Sydney North Sydney is a suburb and commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. And is the administrative centre for the local government area of North Sydney Council. History The Indigenous people on the s ...

Terry Lamb Terence John Lamb (born 15 September 1961), also nicknamed "Baa", is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He played 350 games, with the Western Suburbs (1980–1983) and Canterbury (1984–1996). Lamb was known for his su ...

(Canterbury-Bankstown),

Gene Miles Gene Miles (born 21 July 1959) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative , he played his club football in the Brisbane Rugby Le ...

(Wynnum Manly),

Bryan Niebling Bryan Niebling (born 18 July 1960) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. Niebling played in the forwards. After a successful Brisbane Rugby League premiership, and representative care ...

( Redcliffe), Michael O'Connor (

St George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the R ...

), Steve Roach (Balmain),

Dale Shearer Dale Shearer (born 25 July 1965), also known by the nickname of "Rowdy", is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representativ ...

(Manly-Warringah),

Royce Simmons Royce Michael Simmons (born 2 May 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. A one-club man, he played as a for the Penrith Panthers in the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) from 1980 to 1991, winning a ...

( Penrith), Peter Sterling (Pattamatta),

Peter Tunks Peter Tunks (born 30 August 1958) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1990s. He played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Penrith ...

(Canterbury-Bankstown). Of the players used by Australia, only Wayne Pearce (injury) and Peter Tunks (personal reasons) did not go on the end of season

1986 Kangaroo Tour of Great Britain and France The 1986 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France was the sixteenth Kangaroo tour in which the Australian national rugby league team (known as the Winfield Kangaroos due to sponsorship) plays a number of tour matches against British and Frenc ...

New Zealand

The New Zealand test team was coached by

Graham Lowe Sir Graham Michael Lowe is the owner of the Bradford Bulls together with fellow New Zealander Andrew Chalmers. He is a New Zealand former rugby league football coach and administrator. He previously coached in Australia and England and was the ...

and captained by Mark Graham. The Kiwis squad was: Mark Graham (North Sydney) (c), Dean Bell ( Eastern Suburbs), Shane Cooper ( Mt Albert), Mark Elia ( Te Atatu),

Olsen Filipaina Olsen Orekewa Filipaina (23 April 1957 – 10 February 2022) was a professional rugby league footballer who represented both New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand and Samoa national rugby league team, Western Samoa. He played for t ...

(North Sydney), Gary Freeman ( Northcote), Barry Harvey (Western Suburbs (

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

)),

Gary Kemble Gary Edward Kemble (born 23 August 1956), also known by the nickname "Crayfish", is a New Zealand rugby league coach and former player. He has both played and coached the New Zealand national rugby league team. He is the current head coach of t ...

(

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

), A'au Leulaui (Hull), Hugh McGahan (Eastern Suburbs),

Dane O'Hara Dane Bradford Mark O'Hara is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand. At the time of his retirement he held the record for most international matches for New Zealand. Early years O'Hara attended St. Paul's Col ...

(Hull), Ron O'Regan (Mt Albert), Gary Prohm (

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers (often abbreviated to Hull KR) are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Craven Park, Hull, Craven Park and compete in Super League, the top tier of B ...

), Joe Ropati (

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

Kurt Sorensen Kurt John Sorensen (born 8 November 1956) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Background He is the brother of fellow Kiwi international, Dane Sorensen, and the nephew of anothe ...

(

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...

), Brent Todd (Linwood),

Wayne Wallace Wayne John Wallace is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer and coach who represented New Zealand in the 1988 World Cup final. Playing career Wallace played in the Canterbury Rugby League club competition for Hornby, although he spent ...

(Hornby), Darrell Williams (Mt Albert), Owen Wright (

Manukau Manukau (), or Manukau Central, is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand, centred on the Manukau City Centre business district. It is located 23 kilometres south of the Auckland Central Business District, west of the Southern Motorway, ...

). Peter Brown, Tea Ropati,

Marty Crequer Martin (Marty) Paul Crequer (born 28 June 1965) is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand. Playing career A Hornby junior in the Canterbury Rugby League, Canterbury comp ...

Dean Lonergan Dean Robert Lonergan is a former New Zealand boxing promoter and rugby league player. With Duco founder David Higgins (event promoter), David Higgins, Lonergan had success promoting world champion boxers Joseph Parker and Jeff Horn. With hi ...

Adrian Shelford Adrian Tremain Shelford (4 January 1964 – 19 September 2003) was a New Zealand rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played at representative level for New Zealand, and at club level for Wigan and Wakefield Trinity in ...

, Sam Stewart, James Goulding,

Glenn Donaldson Glenn David Donaldson (born January 28, 1972) is an American musician most notable for his band The Reds, Pinks and Purples. The band's fourth release, ''Summer at Land's End'', was Bandcamp's album of the day on January 28, 2022. Early life ...

and

Gary Mercer Gary Ivan Mercer (born 22 June 1966) is a New Zealand rugby league and rugby union coach and former professional rugby league footballer. A New Zealand international representative player, he has spent most of his career in Britain both playing ...

also played for the Kiwis against Papua New Guinea.

New Zealand leg

The tour began with Australia coming to Auckland to play the first of three test matches between the trans-Tasman rivals. This would be the 18th and final test played between New Zealand and Australia at the

ground in

. Due to sponsorship, the test series was known as the " Winfield Test Series". With the selection of goal kicking

and

NSW New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a state on the east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Coral and Tasman Seas to the east. T ...

outside back Michael O'Connor, the former

Wallaby A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized Macropodidae, 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 Taxonomy (biology), taxon ...

became Australia's 39th

dual-code rugby international A dual-code rugby international is a rugby footballer who has played at the senior international level in both codes of rugby, 13-a-side rugby league and 15-a-side rugby union. Rugby league started as a breakaway version of rugby in Northern Engl ...

and utility reserve

also played in their debut tests for Australia.

First test

Australian leg

In the tour games the Kiwis defeated

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

22–17,

Riverina The Riverina () is an agricultural list of regions in Australia, region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, a climate with significant seaso ...

14–16, Wide Bay 32-7 and

North Queensland North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its Tropical North Queensland, trop ...

46–6.

Second test

After having been Sydney's main test match venue since 1914, this would be the 69th and final test played at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in the Moore Park, New South Wales, Moore Park suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australi ...

until

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

. Gary Freeman, who would go on to play a total of 46 tests for New Zealand until 1995, made his test debut in this game while for Australia,

and

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

winger

made his test debut replacing an injured Dale Shearer.

Third test

Australian vice-captain

tore the

Anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

in his left knee during the first half. Despite surgery and an intense rehabilitation, he was eventually ruled out of the

1986 Kangaroo Tour The 1986 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France was the sixteenth Kangaroo tour in which the Australian national rugby league team (known as the Winfield Kangaroos due to sponsorship) plays a number of tour matches against British and Frenc ...

after failing a team medical. Australia continued its international dominance and scored a clean sweep against the Kiwis with a 32–12, 6 tries to 2 win in front of almost 23,000 at Lang Park. The match was broadcast into NSW and Qld by the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

and via relay into New Zealand. This game also counted towards the 1985-1988 Rugby League World Cup.

Papua New Guinea leg

In Papua New Guinea they defeated Island Zone 26-6 and lost to Southern Zone 20-26 before the two test matches.

First test

Second test

This match counted towards the

1988 Rugby League World Cup 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United States (National ...

. Papua New Guinea scored their first ever test match victory against New Zealand and their first test win since defeating

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

37–6 in 1977. The Kumuls would not win another test until 1990.Papua New Guinea Kumuls results at Rugby League Project
/ref>

Aftermath

Following the loss to

resigned in August to take up the position of head coach with

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

club side

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

Tony Gordon Tony Gordon is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', portrayed by Gray O'Brien. The character first appeared on-screen on 16 September 2007. He appeared as a regular character for two years before depar ...

was appointed as his replacement in September. Dun Furner and Wally Lewis would lead the Australian team on the undefeated

at the end of the

NSWRL The New South Wales Rugby League Ltd (NSWRL) is an Australian rugby league football competition operator in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission.It was registered on 21 ...

and BRL seasons.

References

{{Kiwis tours New Zealand national rugby league team tours Rugby league tours of Australia Rugby league tours of Papua New Guinea New Zealand rugby league tour of Australia and Papua New Guinea New Zealand rugby league tour of Australia and Papua New Guinea New Zealand rugby league tour of Australia and Papua New Guinea

Squads

Australia

New Zealand

New Zealand leg

First test

Australian leg

Second test

Third test

Papua New Guinea leg

First test

Second test

Aftermath

See also

References