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

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

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

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

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 (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

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 Member of the Order of Australia, AM (born 1 December 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and Coach (sport), coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He became ...

was the captain of the team with

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

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 ( Canterbury-Bankstown),

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 ...

(Balmain), Brett Kenny (

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

), Les Kiss ( North Sydney),

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 Lea ...

(Wynnum Manly), Bryan Niebling ( Redcliffe), Michael O'Connor (

St George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

), Steve Roach (Balmain), Dale Shearer (Manly-Warringah), Royce Simmons ( Penrith), Peter Sterling (Pattamatta), Peter Tunks (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 French team ...

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 Mark Wycliffe Elia (born 25 December 1962)ELIA, Mark Wycliffe 1985 - 89 - Kiwi ...

( Te Atatu),

Olsen Filipaina Olsen Orekewa Filipaina (23 April 1957 – 10 February 2022) was a professional rugby league footballer who represented both New Zealand and Western Samoa. He played for the Balmain Tigers, Eastern Suburbs, and North Sydney Bears during his N ...

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

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

)), Gary Kemble ( Hull), A'au Leulaui (Hull),

Hugh McGahan Hugh Joseph McGahanMcGAHAN, Hugh Joseph 1982 - 90 - Kiwi #566

(Eastern Suburbs), Dane O'Hara (Hull),

Ron O'Regan Ronald Phillip O'Regan is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer, and coach who represented New Zealand between 1983 and 1986. His nephew, Daniel, played for the New Zealand Warriors. Playing career As a young boy he idolised players such ...

(Mt Albert), Gary Prohm (

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England, that competes in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league. The club has won five league championships, and one Challenge ...

Joe Ropati Joseph Ropati is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand in thirteen test matches, including in games that counted towards the 1988 World Cup. Ropati is part of a large rugby league family that inc ...

(

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The populati ...

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 ano ...

(

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historically in Lancashire, it is on the northern bank of the River Mersey where the estuary narrows to form t ...

Brent Todd Brent Trevor Todd (born 5 December 1964) is a New Zealand former professional sportsman who has represented New Zealand at both rugby league football and water polo. His rugby league position was prop forward. Early years Todd played in the ...

(Linwood), Wayne Wallace (Hornby), Darrell Williams (Mt Albert), Owen Wright ( Manukau). 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. Playing career A Hornby junior in the Canterbury competition, Crequer was a Schoolboy Kiwi in 1979 and a Junior Ki ...

, Dean Lonergan, Adrian Shelford, Sam Stewart, James Goulding, Glenn Donaldson 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 playi ...

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 Winfield may refer to: Places Canada * Winfield, Alberta * Winfield, British Columbia United States * Winfield, Alabama * Winfield, Arkansas * Winfield, Georgia * Winfield, Illinois * Winfield, Indiana * Winfield, Iowa * Winfield, Kansas * Winfi ...

Test Series". With the selection of goal kicking

and NSW outside back Michael O'Connor, the former

Wallaby 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 some ...

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 Eng ...

. Dale Shearer, Steve Folkes and utility reserve

also played in their debut tests for Australia.

First test

Australian leg

In the tour games the Kiwis defeated Newcastle 22–17,

Riverina The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...

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 northern part has been ...

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 Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and association fo ...

until

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

. 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, North Sydney and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

winger Les Kiss 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 also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...

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 French tea ...

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 The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, 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 five main free-to-air television ne ...

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. 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 primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

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: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

club side

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

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

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 (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and wa ...

and

BRL The Brazilian real ( pl. '; sign: R$; code: BRL) is the official currency of Brazil. It is subdivided into 100 centavos. The Central Bank of Brazil is the central bank and the issuing authority. The real replaced the cruzeiro real in 1994. ...

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