JOHNNY RAPER – ‘PRINCE OF LOCKS’
Everyone had a Johnny Raper story at the pub, on the day the legendary rugby league lock passed away – February 9, 2022. Jim Gannon remembered his dad driving him […]
Tag Archives: alex murphy
FLASHBACK: May 1981
MAY 1981 Great Britain Test forward, Brian Lockwood equalled legendary halfback, Alex Murphy’s record of winning at Wembley with three different clubs, when he played a key role in Widnes’ […]
FLASHBACK: April, 1966
Great Britain’s 1966 Rugby League Touring Squad was given little chance of reclaiming the Ashes in Australia, with only one player in the 26-man outfit having previously been to the […]
VALE DAVE BOLTON
Dave Bolton was man of the match in Balmain’s shock 11-2 win over Souths in the 1969 Sydney grand-final, a match magnificently chronicled in Ian Heads’ book, ‘The Great Grand […]
FLASHBACK: October, 1960
FLASHBACK OCTOBER 1960 Fiery forwards, Vince Karalius (Great Britain) and Jean Barthe (France) were sent from the field in a brutal rugby league World Cup match at Station Road, Swinton, […]
Taking It To The Streets
The Second Life of the Newtown RLFC, by Glen Dwyer Book review. It is one of the regrets of my life in rugby league, to date, that I have never […]
FLASHBACK: June, 1975
JUNE 1975 ‘Bloodbath’. ‘Toughest Game Ever’. ‘Killer Game’ These were some of the headlines, the day after Wales beat England 12-7 in a World Series rugby league Test at Brisbane’s […]
THE MEN IN BLACK
‘The mighty All Blacks’ The first time I took substantial notice of New Zealand’s legendary national rugby union team was 1967, when they were touring the UK and France at […]
FLASHBACK: November, 1989
NOVEMBER 1989 English club, Barrow sacked Australian coach, Rod Reddy, just eight matches into the 1989-90 English season. Reddy, a veteran of 17 Tests for Australia and a member of […]
FLASHBACK: October 1989
OCTOBER 1989 New Zealand were set a monumental task at the start of their tour of Britain and France, with two matches in three days, the first against St Helens […]
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS
IT’S a photograph which has always fascinated me. Australian skipper, Arthur Beetson is holding a trophy aloft, as his teammates gather round. The photograph obviously was taken before a match, […]
FLASHBACK: May 1974
MAY 1974 Brisbane Brothers’ forward, David Wright tasted success at the iconic Wembley Stadium in London as part of Warrington’s Challenge Cup side, in a 24-9 win over Featherstone Rovers. […]
FLASHBACK: April, 1959
APRIL 1959 On a hot spring day, in the French city of Grenoble, France extracted revenge against Great Britain, in one of the great turnarounds of international rugby league history. […]
FLASHBACK: November 1963
FLASHBACK NOVEMBER 1963 Less than 18 months after winning the Ashes series in Australia, Great Britain fell to its greatest humiliation at the hands of the Kangaroos when the Arthur […]
FALSE ECONOMICS
by Steve Ricketts, former Chief Rugby League Writer, The Courier-Mail. It seemed to make sense, in terms of the newspaper’s budget, when I was asked to return to Brisbane, from […]
FLASHBACK: November 1986
Australian skipper, Wally Lewis was heavily targeted by St Helens’ players in the seventh match of the 1986 Kangaroo tour of Britain and France. Three times Lewis was hit in back […]
FLASHBACK: July 1986
Alex Murphy, one of the greats of British rugby league, took a pot shot at the egos of Australian players during a talent scouting trip ‘down under’ for the St […]
FLASHBACK: MAy 1966
British Test centre, Eric Ashton named a controversial World Team as he launched his biography, ‘Glory in the Centre Spot’. Missing from Ashton’s side were Queensland greats, Duncan Hall and […]
FLASHBACK: October 1959
A field goal by Brian Fallon gave Leigh a memorable 18-17 win over the touring Kangaroos, with the captaincy of Australia’s Harry Wells criticised in the press. Australia scored three […]
Lions Tour Diary Part 5
THE 1958 Great Britain Lions Rugby League tour travels the length of Queensland leading up to the return Test match against Australia. We continue our tour diary as it might […]
Steve Ricketts 