1939 New Zealand rugby league tour of Great Britain and France

The 1939 New Zealand rugby league tour of Great Britain and France was a scheduled tour by the New Zealand national rugby league team of Europe between September and December 1939. After arriving in the United Kingdom in August 1939, the tour was abandoned after one match had been played due to the outbreak of the Second World War.

Invitation

In October 1938 the British Rugby Football League (RFL) invited the New Zealand Rugby League to send a team to tour Britain during the latter part of 1939.[1] The RFL also suggested that the side visit France as well and offered to help with arrangements for the French leg.[1] At a special meeting of the New Zealand League Council in November 1938 both offers were accepted.[2]

Squad

After trial games a squad of 26 players (14 backs and 12 forwards) was finalised on 13 July 1939.[3][4]

Backs
Name Region Age
Fullbacks
Jack HemiAuckland23
Jack SmithAuckland21
Threequarters
Wings
Jack CampbellCanterbury22
Arthur McInnarneyAuckland21
Ces DavisonCanterbury29
Laurie MillsAuckland21
Centres
Verdun ScottAuckland22
Tom ChaseAuckland26
Arthur KayAuckland24
Wally TittletonAuckland25
Halves
Stand-offs
Bob BanhamAuckland24
Dave SolomonAuckland26
Halfbacks
Ivor StirlingAuckland23
Len BrownCanterbury25
Forwards
Name Region Age
Hookers
George OrmanWest Coast27
Bert LeatherbarrowAuckland29
Props, Second-rows and Locks
George MitchellAuckland24
Ross JonesAuckland21
Joe CootesWellington25
Hawea MatairaAuckland28
John ClarkCanterbury27
George BellaneyCanterbury29
George BeadleWaikato25
Pita RirinuiAuckland23
Rex KingCanterbury28
Harold MillikenAuckland25

J.A. Redwood (chairman of the New Zealand Rugby League) and G. Grey Campbell (chairman of the Auckland Rugby League) were named as the co-managers of the team but Grey Campbell later withdrew due to ill-health and was replaced by R. Doble, also of the Auckland Rugby League.[5][6] Canterbury forward Rex King was named captain of the team.[7]

Tour

The squad sailed from Wellington on 27 July 1939 onboard the RMS Rangitiki and arrived in London on 29 August 1939.[8][9] Arriving at the Beechwood Hotel, Harrogate – the squad's base for the tour – on 31 August the team tried to maintain a normal attitude even in the face of the deteriorating political situation around them but acknowledged that the situation was liable to change at any time and in an interview, Doble volunteered the services of the team to help with air raid precautions in the Harrogate area.[10][11] The first game of the tour took place as planned on 2 September as the tourists beat St Helens 19–3 in front of a crowd of 5,000 at Knowsley Road,[12] but the declaration of war by Britain against Germany the following morning meant a review of the tour's viability.[13]

An emergency meeting of the RFL tour sub-committee attended by the New Zealand managers on 5 September concluded that no further matches were possible and "the only course was to endeavour to arrange for the return of the party to New Zealand at the earliest possible moment".[14] With the tour officially abandoned the remaining fixtures were all cancelled but while awaiting a ship home permission was given for the game against Dewsbury to take place on 9 September.[15] Despite being announced at short notice the game was watched by 6,200 and the tourists won 22–10 to end the tour with a 100% winning record.[16] Through the intervention of the New Zealand High Commissioner in London, Bill Jordan, the team were able to return to New Zealand on-board the Ranititki – the same ship they had arrived on and arrived back in Auckland in late October.[17]

The New Zealand Rugby League established that the curtailment of the tour had led to a net loss of £3,827 to the League.[18]

Schedule

The schedule of games in Britain was agreed in June 1939 and the French fixtures were to be arranged while the British part of the tour was in progress. Had the tour continued there would have been 21 games against English club sides, representative matches against Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumberland, a test match against Wales and a three-test series against Great Britain.[lower-alpha 1][19]

Date Opponents Venue
2 SeptemberSt HelensKnowsley Road
7 SeptemberHull Kingston RoversOld Craven Park
9 SeptemberDewsburyCrown Flatt
13 SeptemberBarrowCraven Park
16 SeptemberWarringtonWilderspool
18 SeptemberYorkshireOdsal, Bradford[20]
23 SeptemberHalifaxThrum Hall
25 SeptemberWidnesNaughton Park
30 SeptemberGreat BritainStation Road, Swinton[20]
4 OctoberHunsletParkside
7 OctoberOldhamWatersheddings
11 OctoberLancashireWilderspool, Warrington[20]
14 OctoberCumberland
18 OctoberHuddersfieldFartown
21 OctoberHull F.C.The Boulevard
25 OctoberYorkClarence Street
28 OctoberWiganCentral Park
1 NovemberCastlefordWheldon Road
4 NovemberSwintonStation Road
11 NovemberGreat BritainHeadingley, Leeds[20]
15 NovemberBroughton RangersBelle Vue
18 NovemberWalesStebonheath Park[21]
22 NovemberBramleyBarley Mow
25 NovemberBradford NorthernOdsal
2 DecemberWakefield TrinityBelle Vue
6 DecemberLeedsHeadingley
9 DecemberSalfordThe Willows
16 DecemberGreat BritainOdsal, Bradford[20]

References

Footnotes
  1. At this time the Great Britain side were universally referred to as England by both the rugby league authorities and the press.

Notes
  1. "New Zealand team invited to England". Auckland Star. LXIX (255). 28 October 1938. p. 15 – via National Library of New Zealand.
  2. "Rugby League's tour". Evening Post. CXXVI (115). 11 November 1938. p. 11 – via National Library of New Zealand.
  3. "Team Completed". The New Zealand Herald (23, 397). 13 July 1939. p. 11 – via National Library of New Zealand.
  4. "New Zealanders bring strong forwards and brilliant backs". Liverpool Echo (18, 597). 26 August 1939. p. 7 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "Popular Managers". The New Zealand Herald (23, 400). 17 July 1939. p. 12 – via National Library of New Zealand.
  6. "Unable to tour". The New Zealand Herald (23, 407). 25 July 1939. p. 14 – via National Library of New Zealand.
  7. "R. King to captain league tourists". Auckland Star. LXX (170). 21 July 1939. p. 13 – via National Library of New Zealand.
  8. "Players depart". The New Zealand Herald (23409). 27 July 1939. p. 11 – via National Library of New Zealand.
  9. "New Zealand players arrive". Liverpool Daily Post (26, 249). 30 August 1939. p. 13 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. "New Zealand tourists: arrival at Harrogate headquarters". Yorkshire Post (28, 728). 31 August 1939. p. 13 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. "Anxious to help old country". Yorkshire Evening Post (15, 253). 1 September 1939. p. 8 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. "New Zealand soon find land legs". Liverpool Echo (18, 603). 2 September 1939. pp. 5 & 8 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  13. "New Zealand tour team's fate". Yorkshire Evening Post (15, 256). 4 September 1939. p. 7 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  14. "24,000 miles for one match". Leeds Mercury (31, 125). 6 September 1939. p. 7 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  15. "New Zealand rugby team to play Dewsbury this afternoon". Yorkshire Post (28, 736). 9 September 1939. p. 8 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  16. "Tourists win at Crown Flatt". Yorkshire Post (28, 737). 11 September 1939. p. 2 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  17. "Home Again". Auckland Star. LXX (251). 24 October 1939. p. 3 – via National Library of New Zealand.
  18. "Rugby League Tour". The New Zealand Herald (23, 529). 14 December 1939. p. 5 – via National Library of New Zealand.
  19. "Football tour". The New Zealand Herald (23, 380). 23 June 1939. p. 11 – via National Library of New Zealand.
  20. "No game with tourists". Rochdale Observer (7, 110). 10 June 1939. p. 14 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  21. "Rugby League Games". Western Mail (21, 882). 22 August 1939. p. 5 – via British Newspaper Archive.
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