1952–53 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France

The 1952–53 Kangaroo tour was the eighth Kangaroo tour, in which the Australian national rugby league team travelled to Great Britain and France and played forty matches, including the Ashes series of three Test matches against Great Britain and three Test matches against the French. It followed the tour of 1948-49 and the next was staged in 1956-57.

1952–53 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France
Manager	Norm Robinson Doug MacLean
Tour captain(s)	Clive Churchill
Top point scorer(s)	Noel Pidding 228
Top try scorer(s)	Brian Carlson 29
Top test point scorer(s)	Noel Pidding 25
Top test try scorer(s)	Tommy Ryan 4
Summary	P W D L
Total	40 33 01 06
Test match	06 02 00 04
Opponent	P W D L
Great Britain	3 1 0 2
France	3 1 0 2
Tour chronology
Previous tour	1948-49
Next tour	1956-57

The squad's leadership

The team was captained by Clive Churchill with Frank Stanmore as vice-captain. Tour co-managers were Doug MacLean and Norm Robinson.^[1][2][3] In the matches in which neither Churchill nor Stanmore played, the Kangaroos were captained by Duncan Hall on 4 occasions (Wigan, Swinton, Dewsbury, and Selection de Midi) and Albert Paul on 3 occasions (French Selection, French Selection, Paris-Lyon). Three players captained the team in one match: Keith Holman (Doncaster), Ferris Ashton (Wakefield Trinity) and Noel Hazzard (French Selection).

Touring squad

The Rugby League News published a photo and details of the touring team including the players' ages, weights, heights, and occupations.^[4] Match details - listing surnames of both teams and the point scorers - were included in E.E. Christensen's Official Rugby League Yearbook, as was a summary of the players' point-scoring.^[5]
Crocker, Davies, Flannery, Hall, Hazzard, McCaffery, McGovern, and Rooney were selected from Queensland clubs. Carlson, Duncan, Gill, Paul, and Wells were selected from clubs in New South Wales Country areas. The balance of the squad had played for Sydney-based clubs during the 1952 season.

Player	Position	Age	Weight	Club	Tests on Tour	Games	Tries	Goals	FG	Points
Ferris Ashton	Second-row	26	14.7 (92)	Eastern Suburbs	5	22	9	0	0	27
Roy Bull	Prop	23	14.1 (89)	Manly-Warringah	4	17	2	0	0	6
Brian Carlson	Wing	19	12.9 (80)	Newcastle Northern Suburbs	3	19	29	3	0	93
Clive Churchill	Fullback	26	11.10 (74)	South Sydney	6	23	4	17	0	46
Arthur Collinson	Second-row	22	14.4 (91)	Western Suburbs	3	20	9	0	0	27
Harold Crocker	Lock	25	15.0 (95)	South Brisbane	2	17	3	0	0	9
Brian Davies	Second-row	22	15.0 (95)	Brisbane Brothers	6	24	8	0	0	24
Col Donohoe	Halfback	23	11.2 (71)	Eastern Suburbs	1	16	4	0	0	12
Rees Duncan	Centre	20	13.3 (84)	Kurri Kurri	0	18	9	0	0	27
Denis Flannery	Wing	23	13.0 (83)	Ipswich Brothers	1	14	23	0	0	69
Col Geelan	Five-eighth	25	12.7 (79)	Newtown	4	20	10	0	0	30
Charlie Gill	Prop	29	13.9 (87)	Newcastle Northern Suburbs	1	20	4	0	0	12
Duncan Hall	Prop	27	14.7 (92)	Toowoomba Newtown	6	25	7	0	0	21
Greg Hawick	Utility Back	20	13.0 (83)	South Sydney	2	16	8	0	0	24
Noel Hazzard	Centre	27	13.7 (86)	Bundaberg Natives	6	23	6	0	0	18
Keith Holman	Halfback	27	11.9 (74)	Western Suburbs	5	16	10	8	0	46
Ken Kearney	Hooker	28	13.3 (84)	St George	4	20	1	0	0	3
Ken McCaffery	Utility Back	22	12.5 (78)	Toowoomba Souths	0	12	9	0	0	27
Des McGovern	Wing	24	13.2 (83)	Toowoomba All Whites	0	10	17	0	0	51
Albert Paul	Lock	24	14.0 (89)	Lakes United	1	21	9	4	0	35
Noel Pidding	Wing	25	12.4 (78)	St George	4	22	18	87	0	228
Jack Rooney	Prop	25	15.11 (100)	Toowoomba All Whites	0	17	5	0	0	15
Tommy Ryan	Centre	22	13.9 (87)	St George	4	20	24	0	0	72
Kevin Schubert	Hooker	25	15.11 (100)	Manly-Warringah	2	19	1	0	0	3
Frank Stanmore	Five-eighth	23	12.4 (78)	Western Suburbs	5	21	4	0	0	12
Tom Tyrrell	Second-row	25	13.8 (86)	Balmain	1	17	8	0	0	24
Harry Wells	Centre	20	13.10 (87)	Wollongong	2	14	5	0	0	15
Ron Willey	Fullback	24	12.0 (76)	Canterbury	0	17	5	63	0	141

Test Venues

The three Ashes series tests took place at the following venues.

Leeds	Swinton	Bradford
Headingley	Station Road	Odsal Stadium
Capacity: 40,000	Capacity: 60,000	Capacity: 60,000

Match Results

The touring party departed the eastern states before the conclusion of the Sydney, Brisbane and various regional competitions. On July 27, 1952, they played a match against Western Australia in Perth, winning 88—3.^[6][7] Travelling aboard the RMS Strathnaver, the team arrived in England on August 24, 1952.^[8] Australia played 27 matches in England before moving in mid-December to France for a further 13 matches.

September 6	Keighley	4–54	Australia	Cougar Park, Keighley
3.00pm	Tries: nil Goals: 2 Lockwood Prescott	[9] [10]	Tries: 12 Albert Paul (3) Brian Davies (2) Tommy Ryan (2) Ferris Ashton (2) Brian Carlson Clive Churchill Noel Pidding Goals: 9 Noel Pidding (9)	Attendance: 7,431 Gate: £ 983 Referee: T. Armitage

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September 8	Hull	0–28	Australia	The Boulevard, Hull
6.15pm	Tries: nil Goals: nil	[11] [12]	Tries: 6 Tom Tyrrell (2) Arthur Collinson Duncan Hall Denis Flannery Noel Pidding Goals: 5 Noel Pidding (5)	Attendance: 15,364 Gate: £ 2,204 Referee: M. Coates

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September 11	Barrow	2–26	Australia	Craven Park, Barrow
5.45pm	Tries: nil Goals: 1 Stretch	[13] [14]	Tries: 6 Noel Pidding (3) Albert Paul Noel Hazzard Brian Carlson Goals: 4 Noel Pidding (4)	Attendance: 16,045 Gate: £ 1,932 Referee: G. Dobson

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September 13	Whitehaven	5–15	Australia	Recreation Ground, Whitehaven
3.00pm	Tries: 1 Keen Goals: 1 Fearon	[15] [16] [17]	Tries: 3 Brian Davies Denis Flannery Keith Holman Goals: 3 Ron Willey (3)	Attendance: 9,253 Gate: £ 1,153 Referee: C.F. Appleton

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September 15	Oldham	7–7	Australia	Watersheddings, Oldham
6.00pm	Tries: 1 Watson Goals: 2 Ganley (2)	[18] [19]	Tries: 1 Ken McCaffery Goals: 2 Noel Pidding (2)	Attendance: 19,370 Gate: £ 2,856 Referee: F. Smith

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September 20	Halifax	7–39	Australia	Thrum Hall, Halifax
3.00pm	Tries: 1 Cook Goals: 2 Clarkson (2)	[20] [21] [22]	Tries: 7 Noel Pidding Noel Hazzard Rees Duncan Brian Carlson Col Donohoe Tom Tyrrell Arthur Collinson Goals: 9 Noel Pidding (9)	Attendance: 18,773 Gate: £ 2,512 Referee: L.J. Dalby

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September 24	Wigan	13–23	Australia	Central Park, Wigan
5.45pm	Tries: 3 Bevan (2) Street Goals: 2 Cheetham (2)	[23] [24]	Tries: 5 Brian Carlson (2) Harry Wells (2) Albert Paul Goals: 4 Ron Willey (4)	Attendance: 16,223 Gate: £ 2,075 Referee: J.W. Jackson

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September 27	St Helens	26–8	Australia	Knowsley Road, St Helens
3.00pm	Tries: 4 McCormick (2) Greenhall Langfield Goals: 7 Langfield (7)	[25] [26]	Tries: 2 Denis Flannery Arthur Collinson Goals: 1 Noel Pidding	Attendance: 17,205 Gate: £ 2,348 Referee: G. Phillips

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October 1	Featherstone Rovers	15–50	Australia	Post Office Road, Featherstone
5.30pm	Tries: 3 Tennant (2) Blackburn Goals: 3 Davies (3)	[27] [28]	Tries: 12 Des McGovern (6) Denis Flannery (3) Col Geelan Tommy Ryan Ken McCaffery Goals: 7 Ron Willey (7)	Attendance: 3,700 Gate: £ 565 Referee: A. Hill

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1st Test

October 4 3.00pm

Great Britain	19–6	Australia
Tries: 3 Frank Castle Ron Ryder Arthur Daniels Goals: 5 Willie Horne (5)	[29] [30] [31]	Tries: nil Goals: 3 Noel Pidding (3)

Headingley, Leeds Attendance: 34,505 Gate: £ 8,628 Referee: G. Phillips

Great Britain	Position	Australia
Jack Evans	FB	Clive Churchill (c)
Arthur Daniels	WG	Noel Pidding
Ron Ryder	CE	Noel Hazzard
Ernest Ward	CE	Harry Wells
Frank Castle	WG	Brian Carlson
Willie Horne (c)	SO	Greg Hawick
Ted Toohey	SH	Keith Holman
Alan Prescott	PR	Duncan Hall
Alvin Ackerley	HK	Kevin Schubert
Jim Featherstone	PR	Brian Davies
Charlie Pawsey	SR	Ferris Ashton
Bob Ryan	SR	Albert Paul
Ken Traill	LF	Harold Crocker

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October 8	Bradford Northern	6–20	Australia	Odsal Stadium, Bradford
7.00pm	Tries: nil Goals: 3 Phillips (3)	[32] [33]	Tries: 4 Brian Carlson Tommy Ryan Tom Tyrrell Arthur Collinson Goals: 4 Ron Willey (4)	Attendance: 29,287 Gate: £ 3,859 Referee: L. Thorpe

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October 11	Warrington	10–34	Australia	Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington
3.00pm	Tries: 2 Livesey Bevan Goals: 2 Mountford (2)	[34] [35]	Tries: 8 Noel Pidding (2) Ferris Ashton (2) Rees Duncan Jack Rooney Roy Bull Ken McCaffery Goals: 5 Noel Pidding (3) Ron Willey (2)	Attendance: 21,478 Gate: £ 2,922 Referee: S. Abram

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October 15	Leigh	5–34	Australia	Kirkhall Lane, Leigh
4.45pm	Tries: 1 Kitchen Goals: 1 Breare	[36] [37]	Tries: 8 Brian Carlson (4) Col Geelan (2) Keith Holman Arthur Collinson Goals: 5 Albert Paul (4) Brian Carlson	Attendance: 8,409 Gate: £ 1,016 Referee: N.T. Railton

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October 18	Swinton	8–31	Australia	Station Road, Swinton
3.00pm	Tries: 2 Moran (2) Goals: 1 Blan	[38] [39]	Tries: 7 Rees Duncan (2) Col Donohoe (2) Noel Pidding Noel Hazzard Ken Kearney Goals: 5 Noel Pidding (5)	Attendance: 10,269 Gate: £ 1,285 Referee: W. Stockley

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October 22	Hunslet	2–49	Australia	Parkside, Hunslet
3.00pm	Tries: nil Goals: 1 Talbot	[40] [41]	Tries: 11 Brian Carlson (4) Tommy Ryan (2) Clive Churchill Col Geelan Keith Holman Tom Tyrrell Arthur Collinson Goals: 8 Clive Churchill (8)	Attendance: 3,273 Gate: £ 443 Referee: R. Gelder

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October 25	Workington Town	15–27	Australia	Borough Park, Workington
3.00pm	Tries: 3 Paskins Gibson Mudge Goals: 3 Cavanagh	[42] [43]	Tries: 5 Noel Pidding Col Donohoe Albert Paul Ferris Ashton Arthur Collinson Goals: 6 Noel Pidding (6)	Attendance: 11,341 Gate: £ 1,444 Referee: H. Squires

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October 30	Doncaster	13–41	Australia	Bentley Road Stadium, Doncaster
3.15pm	Tries: 1 Lane Goals: 5 Griffiths	[44] [45]	Tries: 9 Denis Flannery (3) Tommy Ryan (2) Brian Davies Keith Holman Greg Hawick Ken McCaffery Goals: 7 Ron Willey (7)	Attendance: 2,452 Gate: £ 326 Referee: A.S. Dobson

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November 1	Huddersfield	9–27	Australia	Fartown Ground, Huddersfield
3.00pm	Tries: 1 Rylance Goals: 3 Devery (3)	[46] [47]	Tries: 5 Arthur Collinson Brian Davies Brian Carlson Noel Hazzard Denis Flannery Goals: 6 Clive Churchill (6)	Attendance: 25,494 Gate: £ 3,448 Referee: S. Adams

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2nd Test

November 9 3.00pm

Great Britain	21–5	Australia
Tries: 5 Frank Castle (2) Doug Greenall (2) Ernest Ward Goals: 3 Ernest Ward (2) Willie Horne	[48] [49] [50]	Tries: 1 Col Geelan Goals: 1 Brian Carlson

Station Road, Swinton Attendance: 32,421 Gate: £ 6,776 Referee: J. Jackson

Great Britain	Position	Australia
Jack Evans	FB	Clive Churchill (c)
Arthur Daniels	WG	Denis Flannery
Ernest Ward	CE	Noel Hazzard
Doug Greenall	CE	Col Geelan
Frank Castle	WG	Brian Carlson
Willie Horne (c)	SO	Frank Stanmore
Ted Toohey	SH	Col Donohoe
Alan Prescott	PR	Duncan Hall
Tom McKinney	HK	Kevin Schubert
Jim Featherstone	PR	Charlie Gill
Charlie Pawsey	SR	Brian Davies
Dave Valentine	SR	Tom Tyrrell
Ken Traill	LF	Arthur Collinson

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November 12	Wakefield Trinity	8–58	Australia	Belle Vue, Wakefield
3.00pm	Tries: 2 Evans (2) Goals: 1 Burton	[51] [52]	Tries: 12 Noel Pidding (3) Ken McCaffery (2) Ron Willey Des McGovern Rees Duncan Tommy Ryan Harold Crocker Ferris Ashton Greg Hawick Goals: 11 Noel Pidding (11)	Attendance: 7,239 Gate: £ 819 Referee: A. Hill

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November 15	Hull Kingston Rovers	6–31	Australia	Craven Park, Hull
2.30pm	Tries: nil Goals: 3 Dockar (3)	[53]	Tries: 5 Denis Flannery (3) Col Geelan Tom Tyrrell Goals: 8 Keith Holman (7) Clive Churchill	Attendance: 5,817 Gate: £ 904 Referee: H. Harrison

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November 19	Lancashire	11–36	Australia	Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington
2.30pm	Tries: 3 Pawsey Horne McCormick Goals: 1 Schofield	[54] [55]	Tries: 8 Rees Duncan (2) Noel Pidding Noel Hazzard Tommy Ryan Brian Davies Duncan Hall Greg Hawick Goals: 6 Noel Pidding (5) Clive Churchill	Attendance: 5,863 Gate: £ 840 Referee: L.J. Dalby

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November 22	Leeds	4–45	Australia	Headingley, Leeds
2.30pm	Tries: nil Goals: 2 Lewis Jones (2)	[56] [57]	Tries: 11 Brian Carlson (4) Ken McCaffery (2) Denis Flannery (2) Ron Willey Frank Stanmore Tom Tyrrell Goals: 6 Ron Willey (6)	Attendance: 20,335 Gate: £ 2,916 Referee: A. Hill

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November 26	Yorkshire	11–55	Australia	Fartown Ground, Huddersfield
2.30pm	Tries: 3 Dean Scott Robinson Goals: 1 Thompson	[58] [59]	Tries: 13 Noel Pidding (2) Tommy Ryan (2) Frank Stanmore (2) Keith Holman (2) Col Geelan (2) Charlie Gill Ferris Ashton Arthur Collinson Goals: 8 Noel Pidding (8)	Attendance: 3,737 Gate: £ 497 Referee: N.T. Railton

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December 3	Dewsbury	7–22	Australia	Crown Flatt, Dewsbury
2.30pm	Tries: 1 Lea Goals: 2 Thompson (2)	[60] [61]	Tries: 6 Des McGovern (3) Harold Crocker Duncan Hall Greg Hawick Goals: 2 Ron Willey (2)	Attendance: 2,485 Gate: £ 284 Referee: A.S. Dobson

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December 6	Widnes	7–18	Australia	Naughton Park, Widnes
2.30pm	Tries: 1 Wilcox Goals: 2 Woodward (2)	[62] [63]	Tries: 4 Tommy Ryan (2) Keith Holman Rees Duncan Goals: 3 Noel Pidding (2) Clive Churchill	Attendance: 7,411 Gate: £ 844 Referee: C.F. Appleton

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3rd Test

December 13 2.30pm

Great Britain	7–27	Australia
Tries: 1 Willie Horne Goals: 2 Jack Evans (2)	[64] [65] [66]	Tries: 5 Tommy Ryan (2) Noel Pidding Keith Holman Brian Davies Goals: 6 Noel Pidding (6)

Odsal Stadium, Bradford Attendance: 30,509 Gate: £ 5,478 Referee: A.S. Dobson

Great Britain	Position	Australia
Jack Evans	FB	Clive Churchill (c)
Dai Bevan	WG	Noel Pidding
Doug Greenall	CE	Noel Hazzard
Ernest Ward	CE	Col Geelan
Frank Castle	WG	Tommy Ryan
Willie Horne (c)	SO	Frank Stanmore
Ted Toohey	SH	Keith Holman
Alan Prescott	PR	Roy Bull
Tom McKinney	HK	Ken Kearney
Jim Featherstone	PR	Duncan Hall
Charlie Pawsey	SR	Brian Davies
Dave Valentine	SR	Ferris Ashton
Ken Traill	LF	Arthur Collinson

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December 18	France XIII	2–45	Australia	Stade Malakoff, Nantes
2.00pm	Tries: nil Goals: 1 Galaup	[67]	Tries: 11 Denis Flannery (4) Charlie Gill (3) Ron Willey Greg Hawick Harold Crocker Tom Tyrrell Goals: 6 Ron Willey (6)	Attendance: 4,320 Gate: F 1,250,000 Referee: Martung

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December 21	Villeneuve	11–18	Australia	Pont-de-Marot, Villeneuve-sur-Lot
3.00pm	Tries: 3 Vigouroux Mares Eito Goals: 1 Eito	[68]	Tries: 6 Tommy Ryan (2) Duncan Hall Col Geelan Keith Holman Ferris Ashton Goals: nil	Attendance: 2,262 Gate: F 704,800 Referee: Bonnemore

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December 25	Racing Club Albi	22–31	Australia	Stade Maurice Rigaud, Albi
3.00pm	Tries: 4 Corduries Tonus Galaup Carrie Goals: 5 Rives (5)	[69] [70]	Tries: 4 Denis Flannery (2) Des McGovern Greg Hawick Jack Rooney Kevin Schubert Rees Duncan Goals: 2 Ron Willey (5)	Attendance: 4,900 Gate: F 806,000 Referee: Ribas

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1st Test

December 27 3.00pm

France	12–16	Australia
Tries: 2 Vincent Cantoni Élie Brousse Goals: 3 Puig Aubert (3)	[71] [72] [73]	Tries: 7 Tommy Ryan (2) Brian Davies Noel Hazzard Goals: 5 Noel Pidding (2)

Parc des Princes, Paris Attendance: 18,327 Gate: F 5,248,500 Referee: Eddie Martung

France	Position	Australia
Puig Aubert (c)	FB	Clive Churchill (c)
Vincent Cantoni	WG	Tommy Ryan
Jacky Merquey	CE	Col Geelan
André Carrère	CE	Noel Hazzard
Raymond Contrastin	WG	Noel Pidding
Gilbert Benausse	SO	Frank Stanmore
Jean Dop	SH	Keith Holman
Jean Dedieu	PR	Duncan Hall
Gabriel Genoud	HK	Ken Kearney
Louis Mazon	PR	Roy Bull
Élie Brousse	SR	Ferris Ashton
Rene Bernard	SR	Brian Davies
Christian Duple	LF	Arthur Collinson

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January 1	France XIII	13–19	Australia	Stade Jean-Laffon, Perpignan
3.00pm	Tries: 3 Ponsinet Comes Jiminez Goals: 2 Puig Aubert (2)	[74] [75]	Tries: 5 Denis Flannery (2) Jack Rooney Greg Hawick Brian Carlson Goals: 2 Ron Willey (2)	Attendance: 9,301 Gate: F 2,231,280 Referee: Planton

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January 4	Carcassonne	5–18	Australia	Stade d'Albert Domec, Carcassonne
3.00pm	Tries: 1 René Benausse Goals: 1 Puig Aubert	[76] [77]	Tries: 4 Clive Churchill (2) Duncan Hall Col Geelan Goals: 3 Noel Pidding (3)	Attendance: 4,881 Gate: F 1,365,300 Referee: Courbieres

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2nd Test

January 11 3.00pm

France	5–0	Australia
Tries: 1 André Carrère Goals: 1 Rives	[78] [79] [80]	Tries: nil Goals: nil

Parc Lescure, Bordeaux Attendance: 23,419 Gate: F 5,060,200 Referee: Eddie Martung

France	Position	Australia
G. Rives	FB	Clive Churchill (c)
Raymond Contrastin	WG	Brian Carlson
Claude Teisseire	CE	Noel Hazzard
André Carrère	CE	Harry Wells
Vincent Cantoni	WG	Tommy Ryan
Joseph Crespo	SO	Frank Stanmore
Gilbert Benausse	SH	Keith Holman
François Rinaldi	PR	Roy Bull
Gabriel Genoud	HK	Ken Kearney
Gabriel Berthomieu	PR	Duncan Hall
François Montrucolis	SR	Ferris Ashton
Édouard Ponsinet	SR	Brian Davies
Élie Brousse	LF	Greg Hawick

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January 15	France XIII	7–39	Australia	Stade des Costières, Nîmes
3.00pm	Tries: 1 DeLaye Goals: 2 Puig Aubert (2)	[81]	Tries: 9 Brian Carlson (4) Jack Rooney (2) Des McGovern Greg Hawick Harry Wells Goals: 6 Ron Willey (6)	Attendance: 3,518 Gate: F 601,185

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January 18	Provence	10–14	Australia	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
3.00pm	Tries: 2 Blanc Pambrun Goals: 2 Rives (2)	[82] [83]	Tries: 4 Tommy Ryan (3) Keith Holman Goals: 1 Noel Pidding	Attendance: 11,133 Gate: F 2,591,422 Referee: Fabre

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January 22	Cannes	0–62	Australia	Stade Pierre de Coubertin, Cannes
3.00pm	Tries: nil Goals: nil	[84]	Tries: 16 Brian Carlson (5) Des McGovern (5) Ron Willey Harry Wells Frank Stanmore Ferris Ashton Duncan Hall Ken McCaffery Goals: 7 Ron Willey (6) Brian Carlson	Attendance: 0,780 Gate: F 156,200

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3rd Test

January 25 3.00pm

France	13–5	Australia
Tries: 1 Gilbert Benausse Goals: 5 Puig Aubert (5)	[85] [86] [87]	Tries: 1 Duncan Hall Goals: 1 Keith Holman

Stade de Gerland, Lyon Attendance: 17,454 Gate: F 6,512,500 Referee: P. Ribas

France	Position	Australia
Puig Aubert (c)	FB	Clive Churchill (c)
Raymond Contrastin	WG	Noel Pidding
Claude Teisseire	CE	Noel Hazzard
André Carrère	CE	Col Geelan
Vincent Cantoni	WG	Tommy Ryan
Gilbert Benausse	SO	Frank Stanmore
Joseph Crespo	SH	Keith Holman
Louis Mazon	PR	Roy Bull
Gabriel Genoud	HK	Ken Kearney
François Rinaldi	PR	Duncan Hall
Élie Brousse	SR	Brian Davies
Édouard Ponsinet	SR	Ferris Ashton
François Montrucolis	LF	Harold Crocker

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January 28	Paris/Lyon XIII	12–10	Australia	Parc de Sports, Roanne
	Tries: 2 Crespo (2) Goals: 3 Puig Aubert (3)	[88]	Tries: 2 Albert Paul Ron Willey Goals: 2 Noel Pidding (2)	Attendance: 5,532 Gate: F 915,800 Referee: Vacher

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February 1	Selection du Midi	13–24	Australia	Stade de Toulouse, Toulouse
3.00pm	Tries: 3 Marty Berthomieu Rinaldi Goals: 2 Poletti (2)	[89] [90]	Tries: 6 Albert Paul (2) Noel Pidding Harry Wells Tommy Ryan Roy Bull Goals: 3 Ron Willey (3)	Attendance: 7,107 Gate: F 1,578,800 Referee: Huc

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The tourists returned from France to London to meet the RMS Mooltan, departing England on the evening of February 2, 1953. The ship arrived in Fremantle on March 6 and to Sydney on March 17.^[91][92][93] The players were welcomed home by local League authorities.^[94][95]
A team selected from the touring Kangaroos played a match against The Rest of Australia on April 15, 1953.^[96] The Kangaroos won 33-21.^[97][98]

Sources

Acronym	Item	Years	Database App	Notes
Direct Online Access
RLN	Rugby League News	1920-1973	Trove	Team Lists, Team Photos, Articles
RLP	Rugby League Project	1907–present	RLP Website	Test Match teams & scorers.
CM	The Courier-Mail	1933-1954	Trove	Match Reports, Articles by Eddie Waring as well as the AAP.
Truth	Truth	1894-1954	Trove	Match Reports, Articles by Harry Sunderland as well as the AAP.
—	Various Australian newspapers	1952-1953	Trove	Match Reports written by the Australian Associated Press and amended by local editors. The Brisbane Telegraph, Cairns Post and Maryborough Chronicle typically published longer versions of the AAP articles.
WARL	History of Western Australian Rugby League	1947–Present	Website	Images of the programme, Western Australia v Australia, including team photo and pen profiles of the tourists.
Offline Resources
EECYB	E.E. Christensen's Official Rugby League Year Book	1946-1978	Copies at State Library of NSW	Teams, Point Scorers, Report. 1953 Yearbook covers the 1952-53 tour.
-	Ipswich Rugby League - The Bulimba Cup Era 1925 to 1972 [99]	1925-1972	Copies at SLQ & NLA	Given Names & Club of Brisbane, Ipswich & Toowoomba Players