The GB Lions Dominate the Rugby League Ashes

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Paul_M_Williams]Paul M Williams
The Ashes is the name given to the trophy awarded to the winner of a Rugby League test series between Great Britain and Australia. The format used is usually that three matches are played, with the winning team being decided on the basis of most matches won.
The team representing Great Britain were originally known as the Northern Union after the sport's govorning body and the team representing Australia were and still are known as the Kangaroos
The first ever Ashes Test Match took place on December 12 1908 when the Northern Union and Australia drew 22-22 in London. The English dominated the match early on and led by 14-5 at half-time. They seemed assured of victory when leading 17-5 early in the second half but Australia fought back with tries from Devereaux and O'Malley to bring the score to 17-15 to the Northern Union. The home side scored another try to lead 20-15 with time fast running out but with five minutes to go the great Dally Messenger intercepted near his own try line. He evaded the chasing defenders to within sight of the try line where he passed to Devereaux who crashed over under the posts. Messenger kicked the goal and the Kangaroos took the lead for the first time at 22-20. Unfortunately for them, the Northern Union were awarded a last minute penalty for obstruction and when they kicked the goal the match ended as draw. Australia won the Ashes for the first time on 1st January 1912 when they beat the Northern Union 33-8 in Birmingham. The 1911-12 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the second ever Kangaroo tour and was actually a tour by an Australasian team (it included four New Zealand players) rather than the Australian team alone. They became the first tourists to win the Ashes and the last to do so on British soil for over half a century. After 1922 the Great Britain RL team became known as the Lions which was many years before the RU team followed suit. In the same year they side beat Australia 6-0 at Salford to win back the Ashes. They would not be lost again until 1950.
In 1928, the City Tattersalls Club in Sydney, Australia donated The Ashes trophy
There was much controversy caused by a rare scoreless Test on January 4th 1930 when The Lions and Australia drew 0-0 at Swinton near Manchester. In the third and deciding Test, Australia's half-back Joe "Chimpy" Busch picked the ball up at the scrum base and ran 20 m for what seemed like a match winning and Ashes winning score. Busch and his team were ecstatic but referee Bob Robinson over-turned his original decision to award the try after consulting the touch judge. Things didn't improve for the Kangaroos when they were beaten 3-0 in 1933
Station Road, Swinton justified it's reputation as "The Aussie Graveyard" on 6th November 1948 when Great Britain beat Australia 17-6. Despite the baffling omission of their captain Len Smith, the Kangaroo tourists played their part in a great First Test matches as Great Britain won 23-21. Their form deserted them and they lost four games in a row before the Second Test at Station Road, Swinton. Before the game, the players paid homage at the corner of the ground where Joe "Chimpy" Busch had been famously been denied in 1930 but they lost the match and The Ashes 17-6. Station Road, once again proved to be the graveyard of the Aussies as it hosted another British Ashes triumph. A 23-9 win for Great Britain at Bradford resulted in only the second ever whitewash in Ashes history
Remarkable courage was showed by Lions captain Alan Prescott on 5th July 1958 when Great Britain beat Australia 25-18 in Brisbane
GB player Eric Ashton said:
"We'd lost the first test and, whether the tour was a success or not depended on the second game. We got off to a shocking start losing Dave Bolton and Jim Challinor and Alan broke his arm. We didn't know for certain it was broken but we guessed it was. He was asked to go to hospital at half time but refused because he reckoned he could still provide an obstacle for the Australians if he threw himself in front of them and he did just that. I don't know how he did it but he did. It was a double break from what I could gather afterwards and it finished his career really. Whether it was bravery or bloody madness, I couldn't make my mind up at the time! The third game was a question of doing it for Alan in his absence. We owed him something and came up with a big win."
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