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

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.

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

Squad

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 AtkinsonLock30 Canterbury322100030
Vern BakalichWing26 Auckland628260078
Tommy BaxterCentre Auckland63250015
Sel BelshamHalfback24 Auckland3102006
Lory BlanchardProp, Hooker31 Canterbury4222006
John BondSecond-row Canterbury193009
Jock ButterfieldHooker, Second-row23 Canterbury42140012
Pat CreedyHalfback27 Canterbury324212030
Neville DentonFullback21 Auckland063009
Ian GreySecond-row24 Auckland21150015
Dick HaggieFullback, Wing21 Auckland42711610155
Robert HawesWing West Coast193009
Trevor KilkellyHooker Canterbury2151003
Henry MaxwellProp Auckland62770021
George McDonaldSecond-row South Auckland3220000
Ron McKayCentre Auckland52458031
Bill McLennanProp West Coast52824014
Les McNicolWing, Centre23 West Coast11360018
George MenziesFive-eighth24 West Coast2143009
Roy MooreFullback Auckland313319047
Rex PercySecond-row21 Auckland423121038
Jim RiddellSecond-row Auckland2120000
Keith RobertsHalfback23 Canterbury21450015
Bruce RobertsonWing Auckland1940012
Bill SorensenFive-eighth, Centre Auckland53380024
John YatesProp, Second-row Auckland0112006

Fixtures

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

DateOpponentVenueResultScoreAttendanceReport
8 October 1955Great BritainStation Road, SwintonLoss6-2521,937[3]
12 November 1955Great BritainOdsal Stadium, BradfordLoss12-2724,443[4]
17 December 1955Great BritainHeadingley Rugby Stadium, LeedsWin28-1310,438 [5]
8 January 1956FranceStadium Municipal, ToulouseLoss7-2410,184 [6]
15 January 1956FranceStade de Gerland, LyonWin22-137,051[7]
31 January 1956FranceParc des Princes, ParisLoss24-37,051[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
  1. New South Wales Rugby Football League. (1920). "N.Z. Picks Strong Side". The Rugby League news. Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League (Vol. 36 No. 34 (1 October 1955)). nla.obj-642190288. Retrieved 21 Jan 2020 – via Trove.
  2. 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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