1951–1952 New Zealand rugby league tour of Great Britain and France

The 1951–1952 Kiwi tour of Great Britain and France was a rugby league tour of Great Britain and France by the New Zealand national rugby league team.

Great Britain tests

• 6 October 1951: Great Britain 21–15 New Zealand, Bradford^[1]
• 10 November 1951: Great Britain 20–19 New Zealand, Swinton^[2]
• 15 December 1951: Great Britain 16–12 New Zealand, Leeds^[3]

Wales test match

• 7 December 1951: Wales 3–15 New Zealand, Bradford^[4]

France tests

• 23 December 1951: France 8–3 New Zealand, Paris^[5]
• 30 December 1951: France 17–7 New Zealand, Bordeaux^[6]

British Empire XIII match

The final match of the tour was against a Great Britain and Australia combined team labelled the "British Empire XIII". The match was played on 23 January 1952 at Stamford Bridge, London. The British Empire team won 26–2 in front of a crowd of around 6,000.^[7] The match, not originally planned for the tour, was arranged because the New Zealand team wanted to play a match in London.^[8]

Teams

British Empire XIII^[9]

1. Jack Cunliffe
2. Brian Bevan
3. Trevor Allan
4. Ernest Ward
5. Lionel Cooper
6. Jack Broome
7. Albert Pepperell
8. Tom McKinney
9. Frank Barton
10. Alan Prescott
11. Harry Bath
12. Arthur Clues
13. Dave Valentine

References

1. "Britain wins test". The Press. Vol. LXXXVII, no. 26546. 8 October 1951. p. 8 – via Papers Past.
2. "N.Z. unlucky to lose test". The Press. Vol. LXXXVII, no. 26576. 12 November 1951. p. 8 – via Papers Past.
3. "Britain wins third test". The Press. Vol. LXXXVII, no. 26606. 17 December 1951. p. 10 – via Papers Past.
4. "N.Z. team beats Wales". The Press. Vol. LXXXVII, no. 26600. 10 December 1951. p. 10 – via Papers Past.
5. "A double tackle". The Press. Vol. LXXXVIII, no. 26620. 4 January 1952. p. 8 – via Papers Past.
6. "Rugby league test". The Press. Vol. LXXXVIII, no. 26618. 2 January 1952. p. 8 – via Papers Past.
7. "Rugby League | N.Z. team beaten in last match | Empire side wins 26–2 in London". The Press. Vol. LXXXVIII, no. 26638. 25 January 1952. p. 9 – via Papers Past.
8. "Rugby League | Big profit on tour | N.Z. team makes £12,000". The Press. Vol. LXXXVIII, no. 26637. 24 January 1952. p. 8 – via Papers Past.
9. "British Empire vs New Zealand 1952". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 6 December 2023.

External links

• Programme from game versus New Zealand 1952
• British Pathe news footage^{[dead link]}
• Kiwis Tour 1951/52, Rugby League Project