Kangaroo Tour: 1959-1960

Sean Fagan of RL1908.com

The 1959 tourists were the last Kangaroo side not to bring home the Ashes.

They were unlucky not to win the series - but they can take credit for laying the groundwork for all the Ashes winning tours to follow.

Led by Balmain's Keith Barnes, the side included Ian Walsh, Reg Gasnier, Ken Irvine, Brian Hambly, John Raper, Noel Kelly and Rex Mossop.

For the first time since the 1929/30 tour, Australia won the First Test with Gasnier scoring three great tries (won 22-14). This left the Kangaroos needing only to win one more Test to take the Ashes.

The momentum of the campaign was broken when, in strange scheduling, the tourists then travelled to France. In the Test held in Paris the Kangaroos led against France by 18-2 before eventually holding out a spirited fightback to win by 20-19.

Returning to England for the 2nd Test, Australia held a 10-6 lead well into the second half. Australia looked to have the Ashes in hand when Carlson lined up a penalty from a handy position to extend the lead beyond a converted try. However, the ball hit the upright and missed.

Australia then "scored" a try to Queensland's Barry Muir, but the final pass was ruled forward. Australia had missed its chances and England scored a late converted try to win the game by 11-10 and square the series.

The deciding 3rd Test became a forwards only affair which suited the British - they eventually won by 18-12 to take the Ashes. The British have never won the Ashes in England since.

Australia then travelled to France, winning both remaining Tests.

Tour Details:

1959/60 v Great Britain, France & Italy

GREAT BRITAIN
1st Test - 17 October : won 22-14 / Station Road, Swinton (34,964)
2nd Test - 21 November : lost 10-11 / Headingley, Leeds (30,301)
3rd Test - 12 December : lost 12-18 / Central Park, Wigan (26,089)

RECORD: P: 24 W: 15 L: 9 FOR: 495 AGST: 390
TEST SERIES: Lost 1-2

AGGREGATE ATTENDANCE: 345,059

v Leeds W 44-20 14,629 Leeds
v Rochdale Hornets W 27-14 10,155 Rochdale
v Warrington W 30-24 17,112 Warrington
v Lancashire L 22-30 15,743 St Helens
v Salford W 22-20 11,008 Salford
v Yorkshire L 15-47 7,338 York
v Widnes W 45-15 9,381 Widnes
v Oldham W 25-14 17,630 Oldham
v Leigh L 17-18 11,932 Leigh
v St Helens W 15-2 19,156 St Helens
v GREAT BRITAIN W 22-14 34,964 Station Road, Swinton
v Cumberland XIII W 13-8 7,463 Whitehaven
v Barrow L 9-12 8,488 Barrow
v Hull XIII W 29-9 15,944 Hull
v Bradford Northern W 29-8 4,126 Bradford
v Halifax W 17-5 8,274 Halifax
v Featherstone Rovers L 15-23 7,671 Featherstone
v Wigan L 9-16 24,466 Wigan
v GREAT BRITAIN L 10-11 30,301 Headingley, Leeds
v Swinton W 25-24 5,021 Swinton
v Wakefield Trinity L 10-20 17,615 Wakefield
v Huddersfield W 21-7 2,349 Huddersfield
v Hunslet W 12-11 8,061 Hunslet
v GREAT BRITAIN L 12-18 26,089 Central Park, Wigan

FRANCE
1st Test : won 20-19 / Paris (9,864)
2nd Test : won 17-2 / Bordeaux (8,848)
3rd Test : won 16-8 / Roanne (3,437)

RECORD: P: 11 W: 9 L: 2 FOR: 277 AGST: 120
TEST SERIES: Won 3-0

AGGREGATE ATTENDANCE: 52,920

v FRANCE W 20-19 9,864 Paris
v FRANCE W 17-2 8,848 Bordeaux
v FRANCE W 16-8 3,437 Roanne
v French Army W 15-2 993 Nantes
v Villaneuve W 11-5 1,458 Villaneuve
v R C Albi L 10-19 5,845 Albi
v Carcassonne L 9-32 6,364 Carcassonne
v Catalan XIII W 32-8 8,198 Perpignan
v Montpellier W 44-13 3,741 Montpellier
v Marseilles W 38-7 1,366 Marseilles
v Avignon W 65-5 2,806 Avignon

ITALY
RECORD: P:2 W:2 FOR:104 AGST: 37
AGGREGRATE ATTENDANCE: 6,605

v Italy W 37-15 3,500 Padua
v Italy W 67-22 3,105 Traviso

EASTERN SUBURBS 0

SOUTH SYDNEY 0

NORTH SYDNEY 2 (Ken Irvine, Brian Carlson )

NEWTOWN 1 (Tony Brown)

BALMAIN 1 (Keith Barnes Capt.)

WESTERN SUBURBS 1 (Harry Wells)

ST GEORGE 7 (Bobby Bugden, Brian Clay, Reg Gasnier, Eddie Lumsden,
Johnny Raper, John Riley, Bill Wilson)

CANTERBURY 0

MANLY 3 (Rex Mossop, Peter Burke, Bill Delamare)

PARRAMATTA 0

QUEENSLAND 7 (Noel Kelly, Barry Muir, Gary Parcell, Jim Paterson, Elton Rasmussen, Dud Beattie, Ron Boden)

NSW COUNTRY 4 (Darrell Chapman, Brian Hambly, Don Parish, Ian Walsh)

08/09 Lutge - 11/12 McKivat - 21/22 Cubitt 29/30 Gorman - 33/34 McMillan - 37/38 Prigg 48/49 Maxwell - 52/53 Churchill - 56/57 Kearney 59/60 Barnes - 63/64 Summons - 67/68 Gasnier 1973 Langlands - 1978 Fulton - 1982 Krilich 1986 Lewis - 1990 Meninga - 1994 Meninga 2001 Fittler - 2003 Lockyer

Copyright © 2006 - Sean Fagan. All rights reserved - the article above may not be reproduced (in full or part) in any form without written permission.