On this day, Great Britain recorded a famous win over Australia, Lote Tuqiri created history on the representative front and Des Hasler reunited with Manly.
1994
A 12-man Great Britain side scored one of the most courageous wins in Test history with an 8-4 victory over Mal Meninga’s Australians. Lions captain Shaun Edwards was sent from the field by referee Graham Annesley for a high tackle on Kangaroos forward Bradley Clyde after 25 minutes. A crowd of over 57,000 watched the Test at Wembley.
1995
Australia won through to the World Cup final after a dramatic 30-20 semi-final victory over New Zealand. The semi-final was decided in extra-time after the Kiwis stage a stunning second-half fightback to draw level at 20-20 at the end of regular time. The Australians come under attack for the number of trainers they had on the field, as well as for coach Bob Fulton’s criticism of referee Russell Smith.
1999
Australia blitzed Great Britain 42-6 in the Tri-Series Test at Suncorp Stadium. The crowd of 12,511 is the lowest for an Anglo-Australian Test in Australia.
1999
New Zealand halfback Stacey Jones suffered a fractured wrist in the Kiwis’ 74-0 demolition of Tonga at Carlaw Park.
2005
Holidaying NRL stars Joel and Michael Monaghan, Stuart Webb and Jye Mullane endure a harrowing ordeal, trapped in a cinema complex as Hurricane Wilma lashes the Mexican city of Cancun.
2006
St George Illawarra forward Dean Young tells of a life-threatening infection following a knee reconstruction which has ripped 15kg from his body. And Dragons teammate Mathew Head reveals he requires further surgery to repair his knee.
2010
Australian coach Tim Sheens controversially overlooks Clive Churchill Medal winner Darius Boyd for the opening Test of the Four Nations series against Papua New Guinea in favour of Wests Tigers winger Lote Tuqiri. Tuqiri’s selection will see him become the first player to switch from league to union and back to league again at international level
2018
Manly announce that dual premiership-winning coach Des Hasler will return to the club in 2019 on a three-year contract. Sea Eagles chairman Scott Penn says: “Des is one of the masters of [salary] cap management”.
This article contains information from the official records of NRL historian David Middleton.
