Fifty years since the historic 1975 Rugby League World Championship was celebrated last Saturday when many of the surviving players from the Wales and England sides, along with over 400 other guests, gathered in Bradford in a lunch organised by the Rugby League Lions Association.
The tournament was the first to feature Wales and England as separate entities in the Rugby League World Cup (known as Championship in this occasion).
Australia, New Zealand and France also competed, with all five sides facing each other twice and the side who finished top of the table took the title.
That in 1975 was the Kangaroos, despite not beating second-placed side England. The two teams drew in Sydney in June then England won 16-13 in Wigan in November.
Wales won three of their five games, which was enough to give us a third-placed finish. We were bottom of the table going into the last two games, only to win against New Zealand and France.
However the highlight of the tournament was the match now known as “The Battle of Brisbane”.
Wales decided to move their home game against England to Lang Park, site of the now Suncorp Stadium, as both sides were touring down under at the time, and it proved to be the most influential match in the whole tournament.
Wales won 12-7 in a bruising encounter and this in the end denied England winning the trophy. Whilst Great Britain have won the World Cup and have always included non-English players in the side when doing so, England have still never won the Rugby League World Cup as a separate entity.
Last Saturday, the Welsh internationals present in Bradford were 1975 tourists Peter Rowe, Mike Nicholas, Dickie Evans, Roy Mathias, Jim Mills, Glyn Turner and Brian Butler, with current Director of Performance, Clive Griffiths also in attendance.
The Rugby League Lions Association recognises any players and backroom staff who toured with Great Britain in the past, plus the England and Wales players from the 1975 World Championship. All of these people receive heritage certificates and three members from the 1975 Wales squad, Evans, Turner and Butler, finally received theirs last Saturday. presented by Rosalyn Sullivan, the widow of the late Clive Sullivan who scored a try against England on that memorable day in Brisbane in 1975.
Jim Mills, who often organises Wales Rugby League reunions for those still living in the north of England, said: “It was lovely to see Rosalyn Sullivan at the Lions Lunch yesterday and presenting the Welsh boys with their heritage certificates. They all played with Clive in the Welsh team so it was great that Rosalyn did the honours, thanks Ros.
“It was a brilliant day and so enjoyable meeting so many great friends and former teammates. Many thanks to John Ledger for making the day a great success.”
As well as representing Wales Rugby League at the event, Clive Griffiths also received a heritage certificate for being a Lions tourist. He was assistant coach of Great Britain in 1996 after coaching Wales to a European Championship win and to a World Cup semi-final a year earlier.
Griffiths said: “It was another spine-tingling afternoon spent in the company of so many world-class players and legends reliving tales of old, on field ‘disagreements’ – led by ‘Big’ Jim Mills, Mike ‘Nicko’ Nicholas and ‘Knocker’ Norton – heritage presentations and watching match footage from epic Lions Series, Ashes tours and World Cups.
“It was also great to see those members of Wales’s 1975 World Cup team reminiscing on stage, with ‘Big Jim’ bringing the house down with his legendary stories.
“On a personal note, it was a huge honour to receive my Lions Certificate from Andy Gregory and to say a few words about the 1996 tour to PNG, Fiji and New Zealand, when the Lions played five test matches and three provincials during a challenging six weeks. A truly special moment to go with catching up with members of that tour again.
“Also special was seeing the huge camaraderie and bond that existed between former players, who were ruthless and fierce competitors when pitted against each other, but who then became brothers in arms when representing Great Britain, or after their playing days had ended. That respect and friendship lasting forever illustrating, once again, what our sport is all about.”
