Record attendance for rugby league Test between Aust and England was 70 024 at Sydney Cricket Ground on 6 June 1932.
Many disputed Tests have been fought. At Swinton (England) during 1929-1930 Kangaroo tour, Australian players claimed the Test half 'Chimpy' Busch scored try which the touch judge would not allow, stating that Busch had gone into touch-in-goal. Match ended in scoreless draw.
Another famous battle was 'Rorke's Drift Test' at Sydney in 1914 when England finished the game with only 10 men. At one time England had only 9 men of 13 on field but held on to win by 14 points to 6.
The 'Odsal Battle" was the third Test between England and Aust at Odsal Stadium, Bradford, on 13 Dec 1952. It was a game marred by many brawls and D. Hall, Kangaroo, vice-captain, was ordered from the field.
Referre Aub Oxford walked off the field and abandoned another unpleasant match between England and NSW at SCG on 10 July 1954. He walked off 16 minutes after the start of the second half when most players on the water soaked ground had started to brawl. But undoubtedly the roughest match was the infamous 'Battle of Brisbane', the second Test of the 1932 series, when feeling was hard between the teams. Aust won 15-6 after losing th initial Test in Sydney, but England won the 'ashes' in the third Test in Sydney.
To the 1988 series inclusive, Aust had won 49, Great Britain 80, with 4 drawn. Against France in Test matches (1937-38 to 1986),Aust won 27, France 12, with 2 drawn. Against New Zealand, from 1908 to 1987 inclusive, Aust won 38, NZ 19. In the World Cup, first played in 1954, winners have been; GB (1954), Aust (1956), GB (1960), Aust (1968),Aust (1970), GB (1972), Aust (1975-76), Aust (1977), Aust (1988).
Australian Test teams are drawn were drawn from NSW and Qld, who were the only 2 States playing class rugby league, this now includes Victoria and South Australia, who have 1 team each. The Sydney premiership was begun in 1908 with South Sydney winning the first 2 years. South Sydney has won the premiership on 20 occassions. St George, which first came into the competition in 1921, first won in 1941 but now is second only to South Sydney in number of premiership wins, with 15. From 1956 to 1966, St George set up a record of 11 consecutive premierships.
Current teams in the Sydney premiership competition, with year of entry, are: Balmain (1908),Sydney City Roosters (1908), South Sydney (1908), Western Suburbs (1908), North Sydney (1908),St George (1921), Canterbury (1935), Parramatta (1947), Manly (1947),Cronulla (1967), Penrith(1967, Canberra (1982), Brisbane Bronco's (1988).
Among many famous Rugby League players have been:Dally MESSENGER, John RAPER, Clive CHURCHILL, Reg GASNIER, Graeme LANGLANDS, Bobby FULTON, Cec Blinkhorn, Keith Barnes, Dave DROWN, Viv Farnsworth, Vic Hey, Harold Horder, Keith HOLMAN, Ken Irvine, Ken Kearney.
Here is a little info on each of them!
