1955–56 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain and France

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1955–56 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain and France
ManagerColin Siddle
Coach(es)Harold Tetley
Tour captain(s)Tommy Baxter
Top point scorer(s)Dick Haggie 155
Top try scorer(s)Vern Bakalich 26
Top test point scorer(s)Dick Haggie 23
Top test try scorer(s)Henry Maxwell 4
Mick Sullivan 6
Summary
P W D L
Total
37 18 03 16
Test match
06 02 00 04
Opponent
P W D L
 Great Britain
3 1 0 2
 France
3 1 0 2
Tour chronology
Previous tour1951-52 by
1952-53 by
1954 RLWC in
Next tour1956 to
1956-57 by
1961 by

The 1955–1956 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain and France was a tour by the New Zealand national rugby league team. New Zealand lost both test series 1–2.

Squad[edit]

The team was coached by Harold Tetley and managed by Colin Siddle.[1] Cliff Johnson was originally selected but withdrew and was replaced by Maxwell.

Vern Bakalich scored a then record twenty six tries while on tour.[2]

Match Results and Players' Records (appearances, tries and goals) were printed in the 1956 edition of the Sydney-based publication, E.E. Christensen's Official Rugby League Yearbook.

Player Position Age Club Tests
on
Tour 		Games Tries Goals FG Points
Alister Atkinson Lock 30 Canterbury 3 22 10 0 0 30
Vern Bakalich Wing 26 Auckland 6 28 26 0 0 78
Tommy Baxter Centre Auckland 6 32 5 0 0 15
Sel Belsham Halfback 24 Auckland 3 10 2 0 0 6
Lory Blanchard Prop, Hooker 31 Canterbury 4 22 2 0 0 6
John Bond Second-row Canterbury 1 9 3 0 0 9
Jock Butterfield Hooker, Second-row 23 Canterbury 4 21 4 0 0 12
Pat Creedy Halfback 27 Canterbury 3 24 2 12 0 30
Neville Denton Fullback 21 Auckland 0 6 3 0 0 9
Ian Grey Second-row 24 Auckland 2 11 5 0 0 15
Dick Haggie Fullback, Wing 21 Auckland 4 27 11 61 0 155
Robert Hawes Wing West Coast 1 9 3 0 0 9
Trevor Kilkelly Hooker Canterbury 2 15 1 0 0 3
Henry Maxwell Prop Auckland 6 27 7 0 0 21
George McDonald Second-row South Auckland 3 22 0 0 0 0
Ron McKay Centre Auckland 5 24 5 8 0 31
Bill McLennan Prop West Coast 5 28 2 4 0 14
Les McNicol Wing, Centre 23 West Coast 1 13 6 0 0 18
George Menzies Five-eighth 24 West Coast 2 14 3 0 0 9
Roy Moore Fullback Auckland 3 13 3 19 0 47
Rex Percy Second-row 21 Auckland 4 23 12 1 0 38
Jim Riddell Second-row Auckland 2 12 0 0 0 0
Keith Roberts Halfback 23 Canterbury 2 14 5 0 0 15
Bruce Robertson Wing Auckland 1 9 4 0 0 12
Bill Sorensen Five-eighth, Centre Auckland 5 33 8 0 0 24
John Yates Prop, Second-row Auckland 0 11 2 0 0 6

Fixtures[edit]

A full list of fixtures is available at the Rugby League Project website.

Date Opponent Venue Result Score Attendance Report
8 October 1955 Great Britain Station Road, Swinton Loss 6-25 21,937 [3]
12 November 1955 Great Britain Odsal Stadium, Bradford Loss 12-27 24,443 [4]
17 December 1955 Great Britain Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds Win 28-13 10,438 [5]
8 January 1956 France Stadium Municipal, Toulouse Loss 7-24 10,184 [6]
15 January 1956 France Stade de Gerland, Lyon Win 22-13 7,051 [7]
31 January 1956 France Parc des Princes, Paris Loss 24-3 7,051 [8]

The Kiwis were so ravaged by injuries that they only had twelve fully fit players available for the final Test against France.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ New South Wales Rugby Football League. (1920). "N.Z. Picks Strong Side". The Rugby League news. 36 (34 (1 October 1955)). Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League. nla.obj-642190288. Retrieved 21 Jan 2020 – via Trove.
  2. ^ a b Coffey, John and Bernie Wood Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909-2009, 2009. ISBN 978-1-86969-366-4.
  3. ^ Great Britain 25 def. New Zealand 6 rugbyleagueproject.org
  4. ^ Great Britain 27 def. New Zealand 12 rugbyleagueproject.org
  5. ^ Great Britain 13 lost to New Zealand 28 rugbyleagueproject.org
  6. ^ France 24 def. New Zealand 7 rugbyleagueproject.org
  7. ^ France 22 lost to New Zealand 31 rugbyleagueproject.org
  8. ^ France 24 def. New Zealand 3 rugbyleagueproject.org
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