1980 Kangaroo tour of New Zealand explained

The 1980 Kangaroo Tour of New Zealand was a mid-season tour of New Zealand by the Australia national rugby league team. The Australians played seven matches on tour, including a two test series against the New Zealand national rugby league team. The tour began on 1 June and finished on 17 June.^[1]

Leadership

As he had been since 1978, Frank Stanton was the coach of the Australian team. Canterbury-Bankstwon hooker, Greek born George Peponis, was the tour captain.

Touring squad

The squad was made up mostly of those playing in the Sydney Premiership. Although not the only Queenslander in the squad, Chris Close was the sole player selected from Queensland, prior to his Man of the Match performance in the experimental 1980 State of Origin game.|- bgcolor="#CCCCFF"| Player| Club| Position(s)| Games| Tests| Tries| Goals| F/Goals| Points|-|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Chris Anderson| Canterbury-Bankstown| | | 2| | | | |-|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Kerry Boustead| Eastern Suburbs| | | 1| | | | |-|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Les Boyd| Manly-Warringah| | | 2| | | | |-|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Greg Brentnall| Canterbury-Bankstown| | | 2| | | | |-|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Chris Close| Redcliffe| | | –| | | | |-|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Michael Cronin| Parramatta| | | 2| | | | |-|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Garry Dowling| Parramatta| | | 2| | | | |-|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Rod Morris| Balmain| | | 2| | | | |-|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| George Peponis (c)| Canterbury-Bankstown| | | 2| | | | |-|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Ray Price| Parramatta| | | 2| | | | |-|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Graham Quinn| St George| | | 1| | | | |-|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Tommy Raudonikis| Newtown| | | 2| | | | |-|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Rod Reddy| St George| | | 2| | | | |-|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Alan Thompson| Manly-Warringah| | | 2| | | | |-|- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Graeme Wynn| St George| | | –| | | | |- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"| Craig Young| St George| | | 2| | | | |-

Tour

The Australian's played seven games on the tour, winning five, losing one with one drawn game. ----

1st Test


FB	1	Michael O'Donnell
RW	2	Kevin Fisher
RC	3	Olsen Filipaina
LC	4	James Leuluai
LW	5	Dane O'Hara
FE	6	Gordon Smith
HB	7	Shane Varley
LK	8	Mark Graham (c)
SR	9	Barry Edkins
SR	10	Kevin Tamati
PR	11	Paul Te Ariki
HK	12	Howie Tamati
PR	13	Mark Broadhurst
Substitutions:
IC	14	Graeme West
IC	15
Coach:
Ces Mountford


FB	1	Garry Dowling
RW	2	Chris Anderson
RC	3	Michael Cronin
LC	4	Greg Brentnall
LW	5	Kerry Boustead
FE	6	Alan Thompson
HB	7	Tommy Raudonikis
LF	8	Ray Price
SR	9	Les Boyd
SR	12	Rod Reddy
PR	11	Rod Morris
HK	12	George Peponis (c)
PR	13	Craig Young
Substitutions:
IC	14
IC	15
Coach:
Frank Stanton

--------------------

2nd Test


FB	1	Michael O'Donnell
RW	2	Kevin Fisher
RC	3	Olsen Filipaina
LC	4	James Leuluai
LW	5	Dane O'Hara
FE	6	Dennis Williams
HB	7	Gordon Smith
LK	8	Mark Graham (c)
SR	9	Barry Edkins
SR	10	Tony Coll
PR	11	Kevin Tamati
HK	12	Howie Tamati
PR	13	Mark Broadhurst
Substitutions:
IC	14
IC	15
Coach:
Ces Mountford


FB	1	Garry Dowling
RW	2	Chris Anderson
RC	3	Michael Cronin
LC	4	Greg Brentnall
LW	5	Graham Quinn
FE	6	Alan Thompson
HB	7	Tommy Raudonikis
LF	8	Ray Price
SR	9	Les Boyd
SR	12	Rod Reddy
PR	11	Rod Morris
HK	12	George Peponis (c)
PR	13	Craig Young
Substitutions:
IC	14
IC	15
Coach:
Frank Stanton

----

Statistics

Largest Test Attendance

12,321 - First test vs New Zealand at Carlaw Park

Largest non-test Attendance

14,000 - Australia vs Auckland at Carlaw Park

Notes and References

http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/tours/kangaroos-tour-1980/summary.html 1980 Kangaroo Tour of New Zealand @ Rugby League Project