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Post by Rugby League Historian on Feb 11, 2022 19:05:43 GMT 10
Date Saturday, November 20th, 1982 Referee Julien Rascagneres Venue Central Park (Wigan) Crowd 23,126 Official Man of the Match Raymond Price
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Post by Rugby League Historian on Feb 11, 2022 19:08:48 GMT 10
Second Test Despite ten changes to the Lions' side, with only winger Des Drummond and props Trevor Skerrett and Jeff Grayshon (who also took over the captaincy) retained from the first Test thrashing, the second Test was scarcely a contest and the Kangaroos won by 27–6. The only change to the Kangaroos was tour vice-captain Wally Lewis' inclusion on the bench. With captain Max Krilich in some doubt with a niggling neck injury, hooker forward Ray Brown was also selected on the Kangaroos bench.
Prior to the second test, Phil Larder, the Coaching Director of the British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA) spent a week in camp with Frank Stanton and the Kangaroos to observe their training and tactics. After Great Britain's first test humiliation, Larder (who was not actually connected to the Great Britain team in any way) had taken it upon himself to contact Stanton and request the opportunity. English football had begun to fall well behind Australia in recent years and Larder's initiative was rewarded by being made the Coaching Director of the Rugby Football League in 1983. He would also become the assistant coach of the Great Britain side in 1983.
Australia's fiery forward Les Boyd was sent off late in the first half for kicking a tackled player on the ground. The touch judge, only seeing Boyd's kick and not that it was in reaction to tackled Lions hooker John Dalgreen lashing out with a boot at Boyd while he was on the ground, came on with his flag up and French referee Julien Rascagneres, who did not actually see the incident, did not hesitate in sending Boyd off, leaving the Kangaroos to play out the remaining 46 minutes with twelve men.
Eric Grothe suffered a knee injury while scoring a try late in the first half and was replaced at half time by Wally Lewis. The injury would see Grothe miss the third Test, played a week later in Leeds. Lewis came straight in to the five-eighth position while Brett Kenny moved to the centres and Mal Meninga out to the wing. Half-way through the second half Lewis showed the 23,126 crowd at Central Park what the British game was missing when he sent a bullet like 20 metre pass to Meninga to score in the corner. The pass did psychological damage to the Lions, who wondered just how good the Kangaroos really were if a player who could pass like Lewis did could not even make the starting XIII.
Wikipedia
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