Greatest Great Britain team ever

[Albert Rosenfeld]

There is a real distinction between post & pre 1980 GB rugby league.

There might be one or two GB players post 1980 to be better than an Aussie in their opposing positions, Morley could make the run on team & Ward on the bench maybe. Hanley was awesome but you'd take Lewis, Kenny and the likes first. And there have been a few Aussie hookers I'd take over Cunningham over the last thirty odd years.

I can't remember the 'old' days though, I would have love to have seem some of those GB player go around.

Why compare Hanley with Lewis or Kenny? Hanley never played as a five eighth, or if he did it was rare. He was primarily a lock forward of the old style, who also played with distinction as a second rower or centre.

 

[Tommy Smith]

No Vince Karalius?

He should be just about the first player chosen.

 

[BrisbaneRhino]

Hanley played a lot at 6 for Bradford - including scoring 55 tries in 84-85 mostly from six before moving to Wigan where he also played for a while before moving permanently to loose forward.

One of the more insular things I find about Aussie RL is when talk goes into greatest ever its apparently fine to pick Aussies from way back, but hardly ever mentions GB players, despite the fact that GB beat Australia quite regularly until the early 70s - i.e. for most of the history of the sport.

Since I started watching in 1981 GB's problem even at the best was a lack of quality in enough positions. In the 1990 series for example we had maybe half a team of ability similar to Australia, but relied heavily on others playing to their absolute best just to compete (Meninga and McGaw vs Daryl Powell and Carl Gibson in the centres springs to mind). Add to that a lack of class in the key positions (particularly halfback) and its clear why GB/England have and probably always will struggle.

 

[Perth Red]

Needs NRL to sign lots of welsh and English union players. The teams that were competitive usually had 2-3 top quality union converts.

 

[Mogsheen Jadwat]

No Harvey Howard?

 

[JJ]

One of the more insular things I find about Aussie RL is when talk goes into greatest ever its apparently fine to pick Aussies from way back, but hardly ever mentions GB players, despite the fact that GB beat Australia quite regularly until the early 70s - i.e. for most of the history of the sport.

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Yep, indeed - the 'immortals' is quite funny, as most of them played for the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th best international league team. Yet players like Sterling hardly get a mention

 

[GongPanther]

No Vince Karalius?

He should be just about the first player chosen.

Not to mention David Topliss,Johnny Gray,Mick Stephenson and Bill Ashurst.

 

[Tommy Smith]

Indeed.

GB with the likes of Alex Murphy, McTigue, Karalius and Billy Boston used to regularly beat the Aussie sides containing the likes of Raper, Provan, Gasnier and co.

They're all quite comfortably the equals of their Aussie "Immortal" peers.

 

[JJ]

Indeed.

GB with the likes of Alex Murphy, McTigue, Karalius and Billy Boston used to regularly beat the Aussie sides containing the likes of Raper, Provan, Gasnier and co.

They're all quite comfortably the equals of their Aussie "Immortal" peers.

I do think the Aussies have the immortal thing wrong (or course it is PR bullshit from a magazine, so probably not worthy of this much attention anyway), the likes of Sterling, Kenny, Meninga , Miles, Grothe and others much more deserving imo - not saying Raper et al weren't great players, but the Aussies of the 80s changed league, they were ridiculously good, and so far ahead of anyone else it was funny

 

[chunk]

not really chunk, problem for Gb in the 80's was not enough great players and strength in depth when a star was missing compared to the Australian teams who were exception in the early 80's. Never been seen since that level of quality in a kangaroo jersey.
Early 90's GB was right up there and but for one or two 50-50 could have won world cup etc. Early 90's was my fave period of Int football. Packing out Wembley stadium for first test wins then losing the second and hoping we could do it in the third but always being crushed at the end we didn't. Glory days for test football imo, or maybe it was just I was 20 something and full of the vigour of youth and beer usually! lol



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Britain_national_rugby_league_team#1990s

Yeah fair enough, the early 90's GB did fair quite well but they never have consistently mixed it with the aussies. Some of those games were fantastic, I can still picture that try by Big Mal.....unreal.

I remember watching the '82 tour and the other main factor apart from talent was fitness. Wayne Pearce was the new breed of footballer compared to the older style, he exemplified the change in standard between the two nations.

Those tours were the awesome and I'm glad I got to watch them.

And I totally agree about the comments regarding the quality of the old GB teams, how good would they have had to of been to beat the aussies regularly.

 

[Perth Red]

I think a lot of it was that Australia went professional much earlier than England did. You could see in the gulf at club level in 80's/early 90's between wigan and leeds who were full time and the rest of the league who were still part timers the difference it made. For all its faults SL finally gave English RL the opportunity to all go full time back in 97. Before that the majority of players were working and playing RL and training part time. It was probably more surprising how poor GB/England were generally in the early 2000's considering they were all in FT regimes by then.

Other factor overall is there is no where near the number or money in jnr RL in UK compared to Australia. Pokie empires means a shed load of funding flows to elite Jnr development where as in UK it is the amateur clubs and not very rich prof clubs trying to develop jnr's and they are competing with the massive juggernaut of soccer.

 

[BrisbaneRhino]

RU turning pro made a much bigger dent on GB than Australia. A lot of GB greats were Welsh RU converts. Until the mid 90s you could guarantee at least one union outside back in GB's best lineup, and pretty much every team had an RU convert or two.

Its taken a long time, but it does seem that clubs being forced to focus on junior development has finally started to lead to more quality British players. Still glaring holes like half back, but there are more quality players available than for a long time.

 

[Albert Rosenfeld]

RU turning pro made a much bigger dent on GB than Australia. A lot of GB greats were Welsh RU converts. Until the mid 90s you could guarantee at least one union outside back in GB's best lineup, and pretty much every team had an RU convert or two.

Its taken a long time, but it does seem that clubs being forced to focus on junior development has finally started to lead to more quality British players. Still glaring holes like half back, but there are more quality players available than for a long time.

Glaring holes like halfback AND five eighth. Gareth Widdop is OK but not up to the Australian and NZ Test standard for halves.

 

[JJ]

Widdop would certainly be part of the NZ setup - did you not notice who played in the halves for us in the UK?

 

[Bobby DIGital]

One of the more insular things I find about Aussie RL is when talk goes into greatest ever its apparently fine to pick Aussies from way back, but hardly ever mentions GB players, despite the fact that GB beat Australia quite regularly until the early 70s - i.e. for most of the history of the sport.

I've also never understood this myself.

 

[Albert Rosenfeld]

Widdop would certainly be part of the NZ setup - did you not notice who played in the halves for us in the UK?

But first three choice NZ halves (Johnson, Foran and Leuluai) were unavailable.

Tuimoala Lolohea is a very young but very talented utility -- probably plays best at full back, centre and wing. He needs more NRL time at the difficult positions of five eighth or scrum half if he is ever to be world class in those positions.

 

[ULYSSES]

I learnt many decades ago...You beat the Poms on the scoreboard every time but they will beat you about the ears for ever more with why they should have won. Must be something to do with living on a refrigerated postage stamp they call ENGLAND.

 

[roughyedspud]

Hanley played a lot at 6 for Bradford - including scoring 55 tries in 84-85 mostly from six before moving to Wigan where he also played for a while before moving permanently to loose forward.

One of the more insular things I find about Aussie RL is when talk goes into greatest ever its apparently fine to pick Aussies from way back, but hardly ever mentions GB players, despite the fact that GB beat Australia quite regularly until the early 70s - i.e. for most of the history of the sport.
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people forget that australia went on nearly as long a losing streak,20+years,without winning a series and only won 3 series,iirc, in 40 years upto 1963..

and in the grand scheme of things australia have won 20 series to GB's 19

 

[Knownothing]

I have always assumed that the importance of the coal mining industry in the north was one major factor in GB's strength in the sixties.



Not only because the local economies were relatively stronger than they are today, but because of the physical benefits that working in the mines brought to young men.


AFAIK, no Australian or British sporting teams were using strength training in those days. So strength was hugely important, whether natural, or derived to some extent from working in a very physical environment like coal mining.

 

[deluded pom?]

I learnt many decades ago...You beat the Poms on the scoreboard every time but they will beat you about the ears for ever more with why they should have won. Must be something to do with living on a refrigerated postage stamp they call ENGLAND.

And I too learnt many decades ago that Australians are the poorest losers in the world and even worse winners with a win at ALL costs mentality. Must be something to do with living on a huge desert island thousands of miles away from civilisation.