League tourists play hard

By Paul Cross

AUSTRALIAN Service rugby league players took it up to their British counterparts during the recent tour of England but could only come home with one win from three encounters.

The Australians began their maiden tour at Wigan with a match against the British Amateur Rugby League Association’s (BARLA) under-23 side – reputed to be one of the best amateur teams in the country.

Coach Warrant Officer 2 Al Lynch said the BARLA match up was hard fought all the way to the final whistle with the Australians going down 46-32.

“It was an encouraging performance. The British services combined team played them the week before and went down 42-10, so the fact that we were able to put points on them buoyed the team for the battle against the combined services,” WO2 Lynch said.

“For every player it was the first time playing for their country overseas and we were a little apprehensive and excited going into that first match.”

He said he was confident in the team’s ability to beat BARLA.

“Even though we had no match practice as a team before that first game it was in the balance at the end of the first half. Once the blokes got into the match they started to gel as a team, which is indicated by the score. It was only in the last five minutes that BARLA slipped away.”

Four days later the Australians met the British Army team, at Dewsbury near Leeds, for a night encounter that the tourists won 22-10.

“We were mindful of the fact the British play a physical game, dominated by a solid forward pack,” WO2 Lynch said.
“Our pack was certainly capable of matching it with them and in both games we dominated in the forwards and I intended to spread the ball wide and run their forwards ragged, which was a plan we basically stuck with for the three games.”

The final bone-crunching game of the series was played in Hull – a very physical match in which several Australians received injuries before the team went down 7-6 in the dying moments.

“The Brits scored three penalty goals and a field goal to our try and a penalty goal but I was fairly happy that they did not cross the line,” WO2 Lynch said.

“I was confident that we would win that game but in a very rough and tumble game there were some factors that were out of our control. In the second half we lost our direction a little bit and played into their hands.”

He said that on the whole he was proud of what the team achieved in what is believed to be the first-ever overseas Services rugby league tour.

Second rower Trooper Kurt Bryant took man of the match for both service games.

Next up on the Services rugby league agenda is a tour by the British Army team in 2004.

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