England v Australia is oh so special

How exciting it is that the mighty Kangaroos are hitting these shores again soon for the first Ashes series against Great Britain/England for ages!

This Friday, October 17, the Oldham Rugby League Heritage Trust are holding a function at Mahdlo with an Ashes theme with guests such as Kevin Sinfield, Paul Sculthorpe, Barrie McDermott, Iestyn Harris, Mike Ford, Terry Flanagan and Mick Worrall relating tales of many battles against the men from Down Under. With the exception of Warrington-born Worrall, who played here, married here, settled here, and has lived here for most of his life, they are all OLDHAMERS, of course --and I would wager Worrall calls OLDHAM 'home' despite his Warrington roots — further proof that this area has been and still is a breeding ground par excellence for THE BEST rugby league players this great country has to offer.

As a RL scribe since 1964, I have had the pleasure of witnessing many international clashes involving England and Australia, both in this country and in Australia. The Kangaroos have dominated international rugby league since GB last won the Ashes in 1970. It seems a lifetime ago! But there have been glimpses of British success, albeit only once in any three-match series, since that last famous triumph when former Oldham boss Frank Myler skippered us to victory 55 years ago.

I was on my first trip to Australia when Britain triumphed famously in a third Test in Sydney with an unfancied team including Oldham prop Hugh Waddell. GB won 26-12 and I can still see Henderson Gill doing his 'boogie' after scorching in for a try and the late Mike Gregory racing in to score from distance. I was in Australia that year on an Oldham Schools' tour with my old mates Eric Fitzsimons, Iain MacCorquodale and Fred Laughton and the late 'Fitzy', then Oldham's coach, couldn't resist winding up a couple of guys in Aussie jerseys as he walked back to the Oldham boys' hotel after the game. "What was the final score mate," he asked  – a tongue-in-cheek query that didn't go down well at all with the men across the road in green and gold.

Some years later I was in Melbourne to see GB triumph again, when a team including a starting pack full of Wigan stars - Skerrett, Dermott, Platt, Betts, McGinty and Clarke - put the Aussies to the sword with captain Gary Schofield in breathtaking form at stand-off half. A staggering 33-10 to the Poms on that occasion.

But the green-and-golds invariably save their best form for when touring these shores. I recall the legendary Bobby Fulton and Tom Raudonikis - both sadly now passed away - bossing the show at half-back in the deciding Third Test at Headingley in 1978. But it was in 1982, that the huge gulf between the two countries was brought home to us Brits when an Aussie side including young superstars Eric Grothe, Mal Meninga, Brett Kenny, Peter Sterling and Wayne Pearce ripped Johnny Whiteley's team to shreds. I had already seen the '82 team play - against Wigan at Central Park - before the RL world in this country was turned upside down in the first Test at Boothferry Park in Hull, the Aussies cantering to a 40-4 victory.

In 1986, the Kangaroos were here again and this time we were treated to seeing them at Watersheddings, the spiritual home of the Oldham club and what a night it was as the Roughyeds gave them an almighty scare, losing only 22-16.

The memory of Colin Hawkyard racing in to score at the Hutchins End is a sweet one. A funny story from that night is that the tannoy played 'Waltzing Matilda' rather than 'Advance Australia Fair' when the anthems were played. The Aussies took it all in good part but they turned it on in the Tests, winning all three. The only real British highlight was a stunning Joe Lydon try at Old Trafford.

In 1990, GB came close to winning the series, winning 19-12 n the First Test at Wembley but then succumbing to that stunning Ricky Stuart break that created a try for Meninga late in the second Test at Old Trafford. That was a heartbreaking moment, and I was there as Stuart was interviewed after the game, explaining how an earlier British interception try from a stray Stuart pass had inspired him to set up the winner.

Two years later, the RL World Cup final was held at Wembley and I saw a fantastic match along with more than73,000 others, as a Steve Renouf try late in the game won the cup for Australia.

In 1994, it was Ashes time again, and following a pre-Test slap-up dinner in a posh London hotel the night before, accompanied by two of my sons, Craig and Wayne, we saw the mercurial little Welshman, Jonathan Davies, score his super solo try to help GB to a famous 8-4 win under the Twin Towers, made even more special as it was achieved with 12 men, after Shaun Edwards was sent off for a high tackle on Bradley Clyde. Inevitably, the Kangaroos recovered and won the series 2-1.

A year later, and in the midst of the ARL-Super League war, the Aussies again took the World Cup home with them from Wembley with a 16-8 triumph.

In the years that followed, I recall vividly the 2003 series when the Third Test at Huddersfield was played later on the same day that England Rugby Union had beaten Australia in Sydney to win their World Cup. At the League Test match that followed, a small section of the crowd started singing the Union game's famous 'Swing high' anthem. It didn't go down well with us League fans.

I vividly recall, too, that GB v Australia game at Wigan when Adrian Morley was sent off after the first tackle of the game. It was literally a kick-off stunner — one of the many things I'll never forget from clashes with our old international rivals.

I would have loved to have been there in 1970 when we last won the Ashes. This could be our year, so good luck to those who will represent us at Wembley, Everton and Headingley and let's get Kevin Walters men beaten for old time's sake if nothing else.