| Tour: | 1952-53 |
| Team: | Australia |
| Yearstart: | 1952 |
| Yearfinish: | 1953 |
| Destination: | England France |
| Manager: | Norm Robinson Doug MacLean |
| Captain: | Clive Churchill |
| Top Point Scorer: | Noel Pidding 228 |
| Top Try Scorer: | Brian Carlson 29 |
| Top Test Point Scorer: | Noel Pidding 25 |
| Top Test Try Scorer: | Tommy Ryan 4 |
| Matchplayed: | 40 |
| Matchwon: | 33 |
| Matchdraw: | 1 |
| Matchlost: | 6 |
| Testplayed: | 6 |
| Testwon: | 2 |
| Testdraw: | 0 |
| Testlost: | 4 |
| Played1: | 3 |
| Won1: | 1 |
| Draw1: | 0 |
| Lost1: | 2 |
| Played2: | 3 |
| Won2: | 1 |
| Draw2: | 0 |
| Lost2: | 2 |
| Previous: | 1948-49 |
| Next: | 1956-57 |
The 1952–53 Kangaroo tour was the eighth Kangaroo tour, in which the Australian national rugby league team travelled to Great Britain and France and played forty matches, including the Ashes series of three Test matches against Great Britain and three Test matches against the French. It followed the tour of 1948-49 and the next was staged in 1956-57.
The team was captained by Clive Churchill with Frank Stanmore as vice-captain. Tour co-managers were Doug MacLean and Norm Robinson.[1] [2] [3] In the matches in which neither Churchill nor Stanmore played, the Kangaroos were captained by Duncan Hall on 4 occasions (Wigan, Swinton, Dewsbury, and Selection de Midi) and Albert Paul on 3 occasions (French Selection, French Selection, Paris-Lyon). Three players captained the team in one match: Keith Holman (Doncaster), Ferris Ashton (Wakefield Trinity) and Noel Hazzard (French Selection).
The Rugby League News published a photo and details of the touring team including the players' ages, weights, heights, and occupations.[4] Match details - listing surnames of both teams and the point scorers - were included in E.E. Christensen's Official Rugby League Yearbook, as was a summary of the players' point-scoring.[5]
Crocker, Davies, Flannery, Hall, Hazzard, McCaffery, McGovern, and Rooney were selected from Queensland clubs. Carlson, Duncan, Gill, Paul, and Wells were selected from clubs in New South Wales Country areas. The balance of the squad had played for Sydney-based clubs during the 1952 season.
| Player | Age | Weight | Club | Tests on Tour | Games | Tries | Goals | FG | Points | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | 26 | 14.7 (92) | align=left | 5 | 22 | 9 | 0 | 0 | align=right | 27 | ||||
| align=left | 23 | 14.1 (89) | align=left | 4 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | align=right | 6 | ||||
| align=left | 19 | 12.9 (80) | align=left | Newcastle Northern Suburbs | 3 | 19 | 29 | 3 | 0 | align=right | 93 | |||
| align=left | 26 | 11.10 (74) | align=left | 6 | 23 | 4 | 17 | 0 | align=right | 46 | ||||
| align=left | Arthur Collinson | 22 | 14.4 (91) | align=left | 3 | 20 | 9 | 0 | 0 | align=right | 27 | |||
| align=left | 25 | 15.0 (95) | align=left | 2 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | align=right | 9 | ||||
| align=left | 22 | 15.0 (95) | align=left | 6 | 24 | 8 | 0 | 0 | align=right | 24 | ||||
| align=left | 23 | 11.2 (71) | align=left | 1 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | align=right | 12 | ||||
| align=left | Rees Duncan | 20 | 13.3 (84) | align=left | 0 | 18 | 9 | 0 | 0 | align=right | 27 | |||
| align=left | 23 | 13.0 (83) | align=left | Ipswich Brothers | 1 | 14 | 23 | 0 | 0 | align=right | 69 | |||
| align=left | 25 | 12.7 (79) | align=left | 4 | 20 | 10 | 0 | 0 | align=right | 30 | ||||
| align=left | 29 | 13.9 (87) | align=left | Newcastle Northern Suburbs | 1 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | align=right | 12 | |||
| align=left | 27 | 14.7 (92) | align=left | Toowoomba Newtown | 6 | 25 | 7 | 0 | 0 | align=right | 21 | |||
| align=left | Utility Back | 20 | 13.0 (83) | align=left | 2 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 | align=right | 24 | |||
| align=left | 27 | 13.7 (86) | align=left | Bundaberg Natives | 6 | 23 | 6 | 0 | 0 | align=right | 18 | |||
| align=left | 27 | 11.9 (74) | align=left | 5 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 0 | align=right | 46 | ||||
| align=left | 28 | 13.3 (84) | align=left | 4 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | align=right | 3 | ||||
| align=left | Utility Back | 22 | 12.5 (78) | align=left | Toowoomba Souths | 0 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 0 | align=right | 27 | ||
| align=left | 24 | 13.2 (83) | align=left | Toowoomba All Whites | 0 | 10 | 17 | 0 | 0 | align=right | 51 | |||
| align=left | Albert Paul | 24 | 14.0 (89) | align=left | 1 | 21 | 9 | 4 | 0 | align=right | 35 | |||
| align=left | 25 | 12.4 (78) | align=left | 4 | 22 | 18 | 87 | 0 | align=right | 228 | ||||
| align=left | Jack Rooney | 25 | 15.11 (100) | align=left | Toowoomba All Whites | 0 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | align=right | 15 | ||
| align=left | 22 | 13.9 (87) | align=left | 4 | 20 | 24 | 0 | 0 | align=right | 72 | ||||
| align=left | 25 | 15.11 (100) | align=left | 2 | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | align=right | 3 | ||||
| align=left | 23 | 12.4 (78) | align=left | 5 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 0 | align=right | 12 | ||||
| align=left | Tom Tyrrell | 25 | 13.8 (86) | align=left | 1 | 17 | 8 | 0 | 0 | align=right | 24 | |||
| align=left | 20 | 13.10 (87) | align=left | Wollongong | 2 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | align=right | 15 | |||
| align=left | 24 | 12.0 (76) | align=left | 0 | 17 | 5 | 63 | 0 | align=right | 141 |
The touring party departed the eastern states before the conclusion of the Sydney, Brisbane and various regional competitions. On July 27, 1952, they played a match against Western Australia in Perth, winning 883.[6] [7] Travelling aboard the, the team arrived in England on August 24, 1952.[8] Australia played 27 matches in England before moving in mid-December to France for a further 13 matches.
------------------------------------
| France | Position | Australia | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Puig Aubert (c) | Clive Churchill (c) | ||
| Vincent Cantoni | Tommy Ryan | ||
| Jacky Merquey | Col Geelan | ||
| André Carrère | Noel Hazzard | ||
| Raymond Contrastin | Noel Pidding | ||
| Gilbert Benausse | Frank Stanmore | ||
| Jean Dop | Keith Holman | ||
| Jean Dedieu | Duncan Hall | ||
| Gabriel Genoud | Ken Kearney | ||
| Louis Mazon | Roy Bull | ||
| Élie Brousse | Ferris Ashton | ||
| Rene Bernard | Brian Davies | ||
| Christian Duple | Arthur Collinson |
| France | Position | Australia | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Puig Aubert (c) | Clive Churchill (c) | ||
| Raymond Contrastin | Noel Pidding | ||
| Claude Teisseire | Noel Hazzard | ||
| André Carrère | Col Geelan | ||
| Vincent Cantoni | Tommy Ryan | ||
| Gilbert Benausse | Frank Stanmore | ||
| Joseph Crespo | Keith Holman | ||
| Louis Mazon | Roy Bull | ||
| Gabriel Genoud | Ken Kearney | ||
| François Rinaldi | Duncan Hall | ||
| Élie Brousse | Brian Davies | ||
| Édouard Ponsinet | Ferris Ashton | ||
| François Montrucolis | Harold Crocker |
The tourists returned from France to London to meet the, departing England on the evening of February 2, 1953. The ship arrived in Fremantle on March 6 and to Sydney on March 17.[9] [10] [11] The players were welcomed home by local League authorities.[12] [13]
A team selected from the touring Kangaroos played a match against The Rest of Australia on April 15, 1953.[14] The Kangaroos won 33-21.[15] [16]
| Acronym | Item | Years | Database App | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct Online Access | ||||||
| RLN | Rugby League News | 1920-1973 | align=left | Team Lists, Team Photos, Articles | ||
| RLP | Rugby League Project | 1907–present | RLP Website | align=left | Test Match teams & scorers. | |
| CM | The Courier-Mail | 1933-1954 | align=left | Match Reports, Articles by Eddie Waring as well as the AAP. | ||
| Truth | Truth | 1894-1954 | align=left | Match Reports, Articles by Harry Sunderland as well as the AAP. | ||
| Various Australian newspapers | 1952-1953 | align=left | Match Reports written by the Australian Associated Press and amended by local editors. The Brisbane Telegraph, Cairns Post and Maryborough Chronicle typically published longer versions of the AAP articles. | |||
| WARL | History of Western Australian Rugby League | 1947–Present | Website | align=left | Images of the programme, Western Australia v Australia, including team photo and pen profiles of the tourists. | |
| Offline Resources | ||||||
| EECYB | E.E. Christensen's Official Rugby League Year Book | 1946-1978 | align=left | Teams, Point Scorers, Report. 1953 Yearbook covers the 1952-53 tour. | ||
| - | Ipswich Rugby League - The Bulimba Cup Era 1925 to 1972 [17] | 1925-1972 | align=left | Given Names & Club of Brisbane, Ipswich & Toowoomba Players | ||