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The 1973 Kangaroo Tour was the thirteenth Kangaroo Tour, and saw the Australian national rugby league team travel to Europe and play nineteen matches against British and French club and representative rugby league teams, in addition to three Test matches against Great Britain and two Tests against the French. It followed the tour of 1967-68 and the next was staged in 1978.
| 1973 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Charles Gibson Albert Bishop | ||||
| Coach(es) | Graeme Langlands | ||||
| Tour captain(s) | Graeme Langlands Bob McCarthy Tom Raudonikis Arthur Beetson | ||||
| Top point scorer(s) | Mick Cronin 77 | ||||
| Top try scorer(s) | Bob Fulton 20 | ||||
| Top test point scorer(s) | Bob Fulton 15 | ||||
| Top test try scorer(s) | Bob Fulton 5 | ||||
| Summary |
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| Total |
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| Test match |
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| Opponent |
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 Great Britain |
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 France |
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| Tour chronology | |||||
| Previous tour | 1967-68 | ||||
| Next tour | 1978 | ||||
The team was captain-coached by Graeme Langlands making his third Kangaroo Tour. Managers of the team were Albert Bishop and Charlie Gibson with Alf Richards as the team trainer.
The following players were in the touring squad.[1]
1973 NSWRFL Premiers Manly-Warringah provided a record 6 players to the Kangaroos.
The Ashes series against Great Britain saw an aggregate crowd of 36,567 attending the Test series
Test Venues
The three Ashes series tests took place at the following venues.
| London | Leeds | Warrington |
|---|---|---|
| Wembley | Headingley | Wilderspool |
| Capacity: 100,000 | Capacity: 30,000 | Capacity: 15,000 |
 |
_001.JPG) |
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| Sunday, 30 September | Salford  |
12 – 15 |  Australia |
The Willows, Salford | |
| 3.30pm |
Tries: 2 Ian Holland Keith Fielding Goals: 3 David Watkins (3) |
[2] |
Tries: 3 Bob Fulton (3) Goals: 3 Graeme Langlands (3) |
Attendance: 11,064 Gate £4,711 Referee: M. J. Naughton |
| Wednesday, 3 October | Wakefield Trinity  |
9 – 13 | Australia |
Belle Vue, Wakefield | |
| Tries: 1 D. Topliss Goals: 3 T. Crook (3) |
[3] |
Tries: 3 Bill Hamilton Steve Rogers David Waite Goals: 2 Graham Eadie (2) |
Attendance: 5,863 Gate £2,004 Referee: R. Jackson |
| Sunday, 7 October | Dewsbury  |
3 – 17 | Australia |
Old Crown Flatt ground, Dewsbury | |
| 3.30pm |
Tries: nil Goals: 1 N. Stephenson Field goals: 1 N. Stephenson |
[4] |
Tries: 3 Bob Fulton (2) Paul Sait Goals: 4 Graeme Langlands (4) |
Attendance: 5,865 Gate £2,059 Referee: G. Kershaw |
| Wednesday, 10 October | Castleford  |
10 – 16 | Australia |
Wheldon Road, Castleford | |
| 7.30pm |
Tries: nil Goals: 5 S. Lloyd (5) |
|
Tries: 4 Graham Eadie Mick Cronin Ray Branighan Ken Maddison Goals: 2 Graham Eadie (2) |
Attendance: 2,419 Gate £947 Referee: K. Allatt |
| Sunday, 14 October | Widnes  |
10 – 25 | Australia |
Naughton Park, Widnes | |
| 3.00pm |
Tries: 2 T. Warburton D. Macko Goals: 2 R. Dutton (2) |
[5] |
Tries: 7 Graeme Langlands (2) Bob Fulton Warren Orr Tom Raudonikis Gary Stevens Bob McCarthy Goals: 2 Graeme Langlands Mick Cronin |
Attendance: 5,185 Gate £1,710 Referee: Harry Hunt |
| Friday, 19 October | Oldham  |
10 – 44 | Australia |
Watersheddings, Oldham | |
| 7.30pm |
Tries: 2 P. Astbury J. Blair Goals: 2 T. Clawson (2) |
[6] |
Tries: 10 Geoff Starling (4) Ken Maddison (2) Bob McCarthy Paul Sait Ted Goodwin Mick Cronin Goals: 7 Mick Cronin (7) |
Attendance: 2,895 Gate £991 |
| Wednesday, 24 October | Cumberland  |
2 – 28 | Australia |
Recreation Ground, Whitehaven | |
| 2.15pm |
Tries: nil Goals: 1 R. Nicholson |
[7] |
Tries: 6 Ted Goodwin (2) David Waite (2) Graham Eadie Mick Cronin Goals: 5 Mick Cronin (5) |
Attendance: 3,666 Gate £1,258 Referee: Mick Naughton |
| Sunday, 28 October | Bradford Northern  |
14 – 50 | Australia |
Odsal, Bradford | |
| 3.00pm |
Tries: 2 A. Long G. Joyce Goals: 4 E. Tees (4) |
[8] |
Tries: 12 Bob Fulton (4) Tom Raudonikis (2) Arthur Beetson (2) Terry Randall Tim Pickup Ted Goodwin Geoff Starling Goals: 7 Graeme Langlands (7) |
Attendance: 5,667 Referee: F. Lindop |
The Ashes series
First Test
In the first rugby league international played at Wembley since 1963, the Lions shocked the then unbeaten Australian's 21-12 in front of just 9,874 fans. The match had been moved to Wembley from the Central Park ground in Wigan at the request of the Australian team management.
| Great Britain |
21 – 12 |  Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Phil Lowe (2) Colin Clarke Brian Lockwood Goals: Terry Clawson (4) Field Goals: Steve Nash (1) |
[9][10] |
Tries: Ray Branighan Bob Fulton Goals: Graeme Langlands (3) |
Saturday, 3 November 1973 |
      Great Britain
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     Australia
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| Wednesday, 7 November | Hull Kingston Rovers  |
9 – 25 | Australia |
Craven Park, Hull | |
| 7.30pm |
Tries: 1 G. Dunn Goals: 3 Roger Millward (3) |
[11] |
Tries: 5 Mick Cronin (2) Graham Eadie (2) Bob McCarthy Goals: 5 Mick Cronin (5) |
Attendance: 5,150 Gate £1,747 Referee: P. Geraghty |
| Saturday, 10 November | Huddersfield  |
2 – 32 | Australia |
Fartown, Huddersfield | |
| Tries: nil Goals: 1 F. Davies |
[12] |
Tries: 8 Bob Fulton (3) Ray Branighan (2) Arthur Beetson David Waite Mick Cronin Goals: Graeme Langlands (4) |
Attendance: 1,333 Gate £451 Referee: R. Wood |
| Sunday, 11 November | Leigh  |
4 – 31 | Australia |
Hilton Park, Leigh | |
| Tries: nil Goals: 2 J. Fiddler (2) |
|
Tries: 7 Graeme Langlands (2) Ted Goodwin Steve Rogers Warren Orr Tim Pickup John Lang Goals: 5 Graeme Langlands (5) |
Attendance: 2,607 Gate £826 Referee: A. Givvons |
| Tuesday, 13 November | St. Helens  |
11 – 7 | Australia |
Knowsley Road, St. Helens | |
| Tries: 1 F. Wilson Goals: 4 K. Coslett (4) |
[13] |
Tries: 1 Geoff Starling Goals: 2 Mick Cronin (2) |
Attendance: 10,013 Gate £3,419 Referee: T. Keane |
| Sunday, 18 November | Featherstone Rovers  |
13 – 18 | Australia |
Post Office Road, Featherstone | |
| 3.00pm |
Tries: 2 L. Tonks W. Harris Goals: 3 H. Box (3) Field Goals: 1 S. Nash |
|
Tries: 4 Ray Branighan (2) Bob Fulton Elwyn Walters Goals: 3 Mick Cronin (3) |
Attendance: 5,659 Gate £7,776 Referee: S. Shepherd |
Second Test
The second test at Headingley in Leeds saw the Australian's tie the series at one game all with a 14-6 win in front of the tours largest attendance of 16,674.
| Great Britain |
6 – 14 | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Goals: Terry Clawson (3) |
[14][15] |
Tries: Bob McCarthy Goals: Graham Eadie (5) |
Saturday, 24 November 1973 |
Great Britain
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Australia
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Kangaroos captain-coach Graeme Langlands was ruled out of the second test with a broken hand. To replace him at fullback, Langlands selected Manly-Warringah's 19 year old dual premiership winning fullback Graham Eadie to make his test debut (Eadie, known affectionately as "Wombat", would turn 20 the next day). Eadie was also handed the goal kicking duties on the day and despite a very strong wind making conditions tricky for kickers, kicked 5 goals which proved vital in the Kangaroos 14-6 win over the Lions to keep The Ashes series alive.
After conceding 4 tries in the first test loss at Wembley, the Kangaroos kept their line intact with the Lions only scores coming from 3 goals by prop forward Terry Clawson.
Third Test
The Kangaroos won back The Ashes with a hard fought 15-5 win in trying conditions at Warrington. The pitch at Wilderspool was frozen which suited the Australians who were used to playing on hard grounds at home.
| Great Britain |
5 – 15 | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Roger Millward Goals: Roger Millward |
[16][17] |
Tries: Ken Maddison (2) Bob Fulton Geoff Starling Elwyn Walters Goals: Graham Eadie (0/4) Ray Branighan (0/2) |
Saturday, 1 December 1973 |
Great Britain
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Australia
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With coach Graeme Langlands still out with a broken hand and looking on from the sidelines, the Kangaroos wrapped up the Ashes with a 15-5 win on the frozen ground at Wilderspool. Man of the match Ken Maddison crossed for two tries while Warrington born Bob Fulton, centre Geoff Starling and hooker Elwyn Walters also crossed for tries. For the Lions, their only score came from a try and goal from Hull Kingston Rovers halfback Roger Millward.
French Tests
First test
| France |
9 – 21 | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Michel Molinier André Ruiz Goals Roger Garrigue (1) Field Goals: Roger Garrigue (1) |
[18] |
Tries: Bob Fulton (2) Ted Goodwin (2) Geoff Starling Goals Ray Branighan (2) Michael Cronin (1) |
Sunday, 9 December 1973 |
    France
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Australia
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Second Test
Arthur Beetson became the first aboriginal player to captain Australia in a rugby league Test match.
| France |
3 – 14 | Australia |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Jacques Franc Goals: |
[19] |
Tries: Ray Branighan Michael Cronin Bob Fulton Ken Maddison Goals: Michael Cronin (1) |
Sunday, 16 December 1973 |
France
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Australia
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