1933–34 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain

Mick Madsen, 2nd Test captain

Vic Hey, three Tests at five-eighth

Dave Brown set an unsurpassed touring score record

Frank McMillan was named as captain-coach of the touring squad after his Queensland counterpart Herb Steinohrt declared himself unavailable to tour. George Bishop and Ernie Norman were selected but ruled out of the tour before the squad left Sydney. Vic Hey and "Mick" Glasheen took their places.

Les Heidke was suffering from leg ulcers before the squad left Sydney and Dan Dempsey was brought in to take his place. The Queenslanders in the squad all contributed £10 to enable Heidke to make the tour as a private citizen and to perhaps recover in time to play. Heidke sailed with the squad from Sydney on the SS Manduna bound for Melbourne where they boarded the SS Jervis Bay for England. At sea Heidke's condition did not improve and he was put off the ship in Perth and headed home.

Exhibition matches were played in Colombo, Sri Lanka and in Egypt. Sydney University centre Ray Morris contracted an ear infection at sea. In the Mediterranean his condition worsened and he was put off the ship in Malta and hospitalised in Valletta. Two days later he died of meningitis.[1]

Test Venues

The three Ashes series tests took place at the following venues. Two of the tests were played at Swinton.

Swinton	Leeds
Station Road	Headingley
Capacity: 60,000	Capacity: 40,000

7 October 1933

The Lions	4 – 0	Australia
Tries: Goals: Jim Sullivan (2)		Tries: Goals:

Station Road, Swinton Attendance: 34,000[2] Referee: F Peel

The Australian team enjoyed an eleven match winning streak on the tour matches leading into the first Test. For the first sixty-five minutes of the match there was no score in the muddy conditions, then Lions fullback Jim Sullivan proved the difference with two penalty goals.[3]

16 December 1933

The Lions	19 – 16	Australia
Tries: Barney Hudson Jack Feetham Stan Smith Goals: Jim Sullivan (5)		Tries: Vic Hey Wally Prigg Goals: Dave Brown (5)

Station Road, Swinton Attendance: 10,990[2] Referee: F Peel

In winning the match which was played in thick fog, England became the first team to post a 3–0 clean sweep in an Anglo-Australian Test series.

• The first Australian side to play a rugby exhibition match in Ceylon and Egypt.
• The first Australian side to play a match under lights.
• The first English side to win the Ashes in a clean sweep.
• The first rugby international to be played in France.
• Dave Brown's tour point-scoring record of 285 points (19 tries and 114 goals) remains unsurpassed.

• Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players, Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney
• Andrews, Malcolm (2006) The ABC of Rugby League Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney