1980 New Zealand rugby league tour of Great Britain and France

The 1980 New Zealand rugby league tour of Great Britain and France was a tour by the New Zealand national rugby league team. The test series between the New Zealand Kiwis and Great Britain was drawn one all, as was the test series between New Zealand and France.

The Kiwis were 6-1 outsiders ahead of the tour. Great Britain had won seven of the last nine encounters and the New Zealand side was almost entirely domestic based, with Mark Graham the only overseas professional. Following the tour Fred Ah Kuoi, James Leuluai, Dane O'Hara and Mark Broadhurst subsequently secured professional contracts..^[1]

Squad

New Zealand were coached by Ces Mountford and included;

• Fred Ah Kuoi; 9 games, 1 try
• Ray Baxendale; 8 games, 1 try
• Mark Broadhurst; 9 games
• Danny Campbell; 1 game
• Tony Coll; 6 games, 4 tries
• Bruce Dickison; 8 games, 2 tries
• Barry Edkins; 7 games, 9 goals
• Kevin Fisher; 7 games
• Bruce Gall; 8 games, 3 tries
• Mark Graham (captain); 6 games, 4 tries
• Bernie Green; 5 games, 2 tries
• Bill Kells; 4 games
• Gary Kemble; 7 games, 2 tries, 9 goals
• James Leuluai; 9 games, 3 tries
• Rick Muru; 5 games, 1 try
• Michael O'Donnell; 8 games, 1 try, 5 goals
• Dane O'Hara; 10 games, 6 tries
• Gary Prohm; 9 games
• Alan Rushton; 8 games, 1 try
• Gordon Smith; 7 games, 1 try, 15 goals
• Howie Tamati; 9 games, 1 try
• Kevin Tamati; 8 games, 1 try
• Paul Te Ariki; 6 games
• Nolan Tupaea; 6 games, 3 tries
• Shane Varley; 7 games, 1 try
• Graeme West; 9 games, 2 tries
• John Whittaker; 9 games, 2 tries

Fixtures

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Score	Attendance	Report
28 September	Blackpool	Borough Park, Blackpool	Win	23-5	1,312
5 October	Hull FC	Boothferry Park, Kingston upon Hull	Win	33-11	15,945
8 October	Cumbria	Recreation Ground, Whitehaven	Loss	3-9	4,070
12 October	St Helens	Knowsley Road, St Helens	Loss	6-11	6,000
14 October	Bradford Northern	Odsal Stadium, Bradford	Loss	15-10	4,553
18 October	Great Britain	Central Park	Draw	14-14	7,031
22 October	Hull KR	Craven Park, Kingston upon Hull	Win	20-12	9,516
26 October	Leeds	Headingley Stadium, Leeds	Win	25-5	5,662
29 October	Warrington	Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington	Loss	7-11	5,680
2 November	Great Britain	Odsal Stadium, Bradford	Win	12-8	10,946
5 November	Great Britain Under-24's	Craven Cottage, London	Win	18-14	2,397
9 November	Widnes	Lowerhouse Lane, Widnes	Loss	7-14	6,416
11 November	Leigh	Hilton Park, Leigh	Win	22-5	3,166
15 November	Great Britain	Elland Road, Leeds	Loss	2-10	8,210
23 November	France	Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan	Loss	6-5	6,000
7 December	France	Stadium Municipal, Toulouse	Win	11-3	3,000

References

1. New Zealand Herald. "Rugby League: Kiwis tours build up special magic". nzherald.co.nz.