KANGAROOS PROUD HISTORY

This is another chapter in the series about the Kangaroos which Steve Ricketts compiled at the request of then Australian coach, Mal Meninga ahead of the 2024 Pacific Cup. The decade by decade look at our National Rugby League side was contained in a booklet (Printed by Gavin Allen’s company Crystal Print Media) which was presented to the players when they went into camp.

CHAPTER 12
2000-2010
AN OLYMPIC YEAR

While Sydney hosted the Olympics, the Kangaroos were going into camp under new coach, Chris Anderson, preparing for the World Cup to be held in the UK and France. Australia’s campaign began with a Test against England at Twickenham, the home of rugby union, something which would not have been possible before Union went professional in 1996. The Kangaroos, who met Prince Andrew in the build-up to the game, won 22-2 in a fiery contest.

Australian prop, Jason Stevens relished the rough stuff, against the likes of Adrian Morley, Andy Farrell and Stu Fielden, saying it gave him a taste of what it must have been like in famous Tests, such as the Battle of Brisbane.

Fiji and Russia were Australia’s opponents in other pool games, with Gorden Tallis captain against Russia in Hull. Future Kangaroo, Lote Tuqiri played for Fiji against Australia in Gateshead. Australia defeated Samoa in a quarter final in Watford, and then, after trailing 14-20 at halftime, accounted for Wales 46-22 in a gripping semi-final in Huddersfield. The match was live on free-to-air television in Australia, and was viewed here at breakfast time. Many workers reported late for duty that day.

The Kiwis, who had accounted for England at the home of Bolton Wanderers Soccer Club, were our rivals at Old Trafford a week later, with the Kangaroos winning 40-12. Halfback, Brett Kimmorley’s kicking game was superb, but Man of the Match was winger, Wendell Sailor who scored two tries. Coach Anderson, who raised eyebrows by playing Andrew Johns at hooker, rated the 2000 squad a more talented group than the 1982 Kangaroos, of which he was a part. The bulk of the team had played in the 52-0 annihilation of the Kiwis in the Anzac Test earlier in the year.

A traditional ‘Ashes’ series was held in 2001, with the Kangaroos taking on Great Britain in three Tests in England, after there were fears the terrorist attacks on the USA might derail international sport. At first the ARL thought it prudent to cancel the proposed tour, but after a backlash from the public, as well as a number of players, it was decided to travel to the UK as a sign that ‘life must go on’.

Britain drew first blood, winning the First Test 20-12 in Huddersfield, under the captaincy of Andy Farrell. But the Kangaroos destroyed the bravado in British ranks by racing to a 40-0 halftime lead in the return clash in Bolton. The final score was 40-12 with Australian halfback, Andrew Johns Man of the Match after scoring two tries and kicking six goals.

Australia won the deciding Test at Wigan 28-8, with Johns’ halves partner, Trent Barrett scoring two tries. The Kangaroos led only 12-6 at halftime, and Fittler had to maintain the mental resolve of his players after news filtered through at halftime that coach, Chris Anderson had been taken to hospital, following a heart attack. 

Great Britain played a one-off Test in Sydney in 2002, with the Kangaroos, led by Andrew Johns, scoring 11 tries to two in a crushing 64-10 win with hooker, Danny Buderus Man of the Match. It was Britain’s worst ever Test match defeat and brought into question the wisdom of playing one-off Tests. Broncos’ centre, Brent Tate made his debut in this match and went on to play another 25 Tests before finishing his international career in the 2013 World Cup. 

There was also a one off Test against New Zealand in Wellington at the end of the season with Gorden Tallis the skipper. It was one of the great comeback stories, given Gorden’s career hung in the balance the previous year, when he suffered a potentially career ending spinal injury in a club match. (Andrew Johns was unavailable through injury).

Coached by former Balmain halfback, Gary Freeman, the Kiwis led 24-16 at halftime, but Tallis and coach, Anderson rallied the troops and the Kangaroos won 32-24 with centre, Matt Gidley scoring two tries and lock, Scott Hill finishing with Man of the Match honours.

In 2003, Mal Meninga was inducted into the ARL Hall of Fame, and Darren Lockyer became Australia’s new skipper. The Kangaroos played five Tests, two against the Kiwis and then three against Great Britain. The Kangaroos were convincing 48-6 winners in the first Trans-Tasman clash in Sydney, but lost the end-of-season encounter at North Harbour Stadium 30-16.

The Kangaroos were to head to Europe immediately after that game, and some sections of the media labelled the squad ‘second stringers’, and predicted an Ashes victory for Britain.

In the build-up to the Test series Australia played matches against a French selection in Carcassonne; England A in London and Wales in Bridgend, winning all three convincingly. It was more like a Kangaroo tour, with matches outside the Tests. But Rugby League’s international program had been so heavily disrupted by the Super League War of the mid-1990s, that the sight of thousands of travelling Australian supporters in the stands, seemed a thing of the past.

What a shame, as the 2003 Ashes series was full of drama, from start to finish, with Lockyer the man of the moment. British enforcer, Adrian Morley was sent off in the first minute of the opening Test in Wigan, for a high shot on Robbie Kearns. Instead of rolling over, the British almost got away with a win, leading 18-14 late in the game thanks to a try to Irish winger, Brian Carney, who currently heads SkySports coverage of Super League. It was Lockyer who denied Britain a win with a try between the posts.

An international panel ruled that send-off was sufficient in the case of Morley, and he returned for the Second Test in Hull. Under Lockyer’s leadership and an inspired performance from halfback, Brett Kimmorley, Australia bounced back from 20-12 down at halftime to record a stunning 23-20 win and retain the Ashes.

The much maligned Kangaroos became the first squad since 1986 to remain undefeated  when they recorded an 18-12 win in the Third Test in Huddersfield. It was 6-all at halftime and then Britain led 12-6 with three minutes left. Enter ‘that man Lockyer’ who created two tries to win the match, the first to Michael De Vere and the second to Luke Ricketson, with Craig Fitzgibbon converting both tries, the first from the sideline.

Queenslander, Darren Smith, who had been playing club football for St Helens in England, was called into the Australian squad for the Third Test, the first time in the history of the Kangaroos a player from outside the tour squad was called in.

In December, 2003, Lockyer was awarded the Golden Boot as rugby league’s best player.

TRI-NATIONS ARE BACK

Wayne Bennett, who had pushed for the return of the Tri-Nations concept, put up his hand to coach Australia in 2004. It was a hotly contested, brutal campaign with the Kangaroos held to a draw by the Kiwis in Auckland; and also beaten by Great Britain. The Auckland match saw Kangaroos debutant, Tonie Carroll come under fire from the Kiwi crowd, given he had represented the Kiwis in the 2000 World Cup. Tonie was Christchurch born, but Australian raised.

Australia played New Zealand again a week later, at Loftus Road in London, the home of Queens Park Rangers Soccer Club. Bennett and Kiwi coach, Daniel Anderson worked hard at promoting the game, with a press conference in Soho, and an appearance by the Kangaroos at the Walkabout Pub, Shepherd’s Bush. Australia defeated the Kiwis 32-12.

Australia switched base to England’s North and defeated Britain 12-8 in Manchester before having a week off. Lockyer, who had moved from fullback to five eighth at the Broncos, and was chosen in the 6 jersey for Australia, missed the return match against Britain at Wigan because of a rib injury and Britain won 24-12.

The Kangaroos put on a master class in the final at Elland Road, Leeds, defeating Britain 44-4. The capacity crowd of 39,112 firmly believed the Kangaroos were vulnerable after Britain’s win at Wigan took them to the top of the Tri-Nations ladder. But Lockyer, in a man of the match performance, led from the front, scoring a try and kicking six goals. Fullback, Anthony Minichiello and centre, Willie Tonga each scored two tries.

Australian hooker, Danny Buderus said it was “sensational” to have Lockyer back in the side. “He’s one of those players you tell your kids you played with,” Buderus said.

Dynamic North Queensland fullback, Matt Bowen played his one and only Test in a clash against France in Toulouse a week before the Tri-Nations Final, with the Kangaroos winning 52-30 after holding a shaky 34-30 lead with seven minutes left. The Kangaroos played a match against the United States Tomahawks in Pennsylvania on the way home, and the Americans made the tired Australians work hard for their 36-24 victory.

Bennett was in charge again for the 2005 Tri-Nations, and once again Australia suffered a loss in the preliminary games, this time to the Kiwis in Auckland. The two teams met again in the final at Elland Road, and there was no happy ending for the Kangaroos with the Kiwis inflicting a 24-0 defeat on their stunned opponents. It was the first time the Kiwis had won an international tournament. It was the first time Australia had lost an international series since 1978 (in France) and the first time they had lost a series to the Kiwis since 1953. 

Danny Buderus captained Australia in the final, in the absence of Darren Lockyer, who had a foot injury. Halfback, Craig Gower captained Australia in a 44-12 win over France in Perpignan with Wests Tigers’ premiership winning halfback, Scott Prince scoring a try and kicking six goals. Australia had won the Anzac Test earlier in the year, in Brisbane, with Nathan Hindmarsh man of the match.

Ricky Stuart succeeded Bennett as coach in 2006 when another Tri-Nations tournament was held, this time in the Southern Hemisphere. It proved a wonderful event, with many twists and turns, including a 23-12 loss by the Kangaroos against Great Britain in Sydney. The match did so much to erase the memories of the Brits 64-10 loss in the same city four years earlier.

But it was Australia and New Zealand who contested the final in Sydney and it proved one of the most gripping Test matches in the history of the code, the first Test ever decided in golden point extra time. Players from both sides were playing on instinct when, in the 90^th minute, Australian halfback, Johnathan Thurston made the vital break and Lockyer finished it off with a try between the posts. It was a legendary year for Lockyer, who had captained Queensland to State of Origin success, and the Broncos to a premiership.

In 2007 there were one-off Tests between the Trans-Tasman foes, with Australia winning 30-6 in Brisbane in April and 58-0 in Wellington in October. Melbourne Storm’s Israel Folau became the youngest player to wear the green and gold in a Test match when he played in Wellington, aged 18 years 194 days. He grabbed two tries on debut. With Lockyer unavailable through injury, Melbourne hooker, Cameron Smith captained Australia in Wellington.

CENTENARY TEST AND WORLD CUP

A Test to mark 100 years of rugby league in Australia was played at the SCG in 2008, with the Australians wearing maroon and blue, just as the first Kangaroos had done. The Kiwis wore an ‘All Blacks’ strip, just as the first Kiwis had done. The Kangaroos were simply magnificent in a 28-12 win. The late Carl Webb made his one and only appearance for Australia in this match, while the other debutants were Billy Slater and Paul Gallen.

Centre, Mark Gasnier scored two tries, the first from an amazing piece of athleticism and football instinct by winger, Greg Inglis. ‘GI’ chased a Thurston kick, gathered the ball in before it went dead, and then threw it backwards over his head into Gasnier’s waiting arms.

“Rugby League people like to see athleticism like that,” said Australian coach, Ricky Stuart, in something of an understatement. While GI’s effort was the talk of the crowd and millions of television viewers, hooker and skipper, Cameron Smith was going about his business earning man of the match honours.

Unfortunately for the Kangaroos, the Kiwis had the last laugh, beating Australia 34-20 at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium in the Centenary World Cup Final on November 22. The Kangaroos had been undefeated up until that point, accounting for the Kiwis, English and Kumuls in the lead-up games, before thrashing Fiji 52-0 in the semi-final in Sydney. New Zealand defeated England 32-22 in the other semi, in Brisbane. The Sydney semi-final was preceded by the first ever Indigenous v Maori game, with Preston Campbell captaining an Indigenous side, which included Carl Webb.

The World Cup final attracted a crowd of 50,559 to Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, with most of those in attendance expecting an Australian victory. The fans were enthralled by the occasion from the time the teams took the field, with the Australians linking arms and advancing on the Kiwi Haka, standing eyeball to eyeball with their rivals.

Australia led 10-0 early and then 16-12 at halftime with the try of the first half belonging to the Kangaroos. Skipper, Lockyer handled three times in a scintillating mid-field burst, with second rower, Anthony Watmough on hand to score the try.

The Kiwis came out breathing fire in the second half, and finished with the glory, scoring three tries in the last 20 minutes – one against the run of play; one from a kick, and the other a penalty try given by video referee, Englishman, Steve Ganson. Despite the loss, Lockyer was man of the match; and Slater the player of the tournament. Slater also won the Golden Boot as the World’s Best Player.

The Australian Team of the Century was named in 2008. It was: Fullback, Clive Churchill; wingers, Brian Bevan, Ken Irvine; centres, Reg Gasnier, Mal Meninga; five eighth, Wally Lewis; halfback, Andrew Johns; lock, Johnny Raper; second rowers, Ron Coote, Norm Provan; props, Arthur Beetson, Duncan Hall; hooker, Noel Kelly. Reserves: Herbert ‘Dally’ Messenger, Bob Fulton, Graeme Langlands, Frank Burge. Coach, Jack Gibson.

Jack Gibson died on the day of the Centenary Test. The surviving members of the Team of the Century are Meninga, Lewis, Johns and Coote, with Coote inducted as an Immortal in 2024.

FOUR NATIONS

A Four Nations tournament in England and France completed the decade, and for the ‘true believers’ of international rugby league, it was wonderful to see France back on the big stage. France led England 12-4 at halftime in the opening match of the tournament in Doncaster, and were captained by Olivier Elima, who grew up in Villeneuve-sur-Lot, the first city in France to embrace the new code of rugby league, in 1934. From there it was all down hill for the French, with England winning 34-12. The Kiwis beat France 62-12 in Toulouse and then the Kangaroos won 42-4 in Paris with centre, Michael Jennings scoring three tries on debut. Twins, Brett and Josh Morris scored two tries each.

It was a proud day for Penrith in Paris, with a record four players in green and gold – Jennings, Luke Lewis, Petero Civoniceva and Trent Waterhouse. In the other preliminary games Australia had beaten England 26-16 at Wigan and had been held to a 20-all draw by the Kiwis in London. Australia finished on top of the ladder on five points, one clear of England. The teams met in the final at Elland Road, Leeds, with Billy Slater scoring three tries and Brett Morris two in a courageous 46-16 win in Darren Lockyer’s 50^th Test appearance.

The Australians came from 16-14 down with 30 minutes to play, to blitz the home side with six straight tries. Lock Sam Burgess had scored two tries for England, who were captained by Jamie Peacock. Tim Sheens had succeeded Ricky Stuart as coach, and began his reign with the Australians defeating New Zealand 38-10 in a mid-season Test in Brisbane. Greg Inglis won the Golden Boot.

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