The 1984 Wallabies, my favourite all-time team

Don’t know if you’ll get this but you should put it out there again. Especially today under Harry Jones's piece. Cheers . I agree as well .

I just came across this blog and must correct Sheek who says Keith Besomo came to Easts &NSW via WA. He was born & bred in Bondi and went to WA after his career ended in NSW. I know because I went to school with the guy and, yes, he was huge (probably still is!)

If anybody is interested in forward rugby from that era then Colin Dean's autobiography is an interesting read.

Ian Milne aka "The Bear" was a notoriously huge scrummager, and not only that but a man who refused to get involved in any fisticuffs. From memory I recall the Lions (I only mention the Lions because SA weren't involved in the test scene) having a distinct scrummaging advantage over SA and NZ during every single tour from the 70s to the late 80s.

Frank, Beautiful stuff. I've probably told you this before, I've met Topo & on one occasion asked who his toughest opponent was. I was expecting him to mention a kiwi or saffie, but he surprised me by naming Ian Milne. He said Milne was the strongest guy he ever scrummed against in his international career 1979-87. Topo's greatest strength (his words) was his endurance strength. He believed that over 80 minutes, no opponent could stay with him, although they might trouble him for the first 20-30 minutes.

I feel like giving my thoughts on the players... 15. Roger Gould Sincerely, I wouldn't want to try and measure the contributions of Mark Ella to Roger Gould's on the Grand Slam tour, because honestly you'd need a microscope. For mine, the second best Australian back on that tour. He was absolutely flawless in defence, and while he wasn't willing to attack as much as somebody like Serge Blanco, when he did come into the line he made an impact. Against Scotland he took two players with him before offloading to Slack (this resulted in a Campese try). Later on he gifted Ella his 4th try when he had Campo on his outside. Australia benefitted from his tremendous size as well. Mark Ella, always thinking a few phases ahead of everybody else, liked to use him immediately by bringing him into the line to take the crash ball, setting up the 2nd phase. It worked well because Roger had these massive thighs and often took a few players with him. I really don't have to say anything about Gould's clearing kickers - always effective. He was just the great defensive fullback of the 80s. I think he's underrated although those who saw him do rate him. 14. David Campese Sheek is right when he says this man needs no introduction. But the interesting thing about watching early matches involving Campese is that while he was already a remarkable individualist and a match-winner, he did tend to run away from his support. Some people such as Mark Ella have ventured to say he matured over the Grand Slam, and he did. He played well against England and Ireland, but his performances against Wales and particularly Scotland, were phenominal. I think he was Australia's best player against Scotland. He counter-attacking was exciting and he finished off the game with the try of the tour, when he doubled around Steve Tuynaman and sprinted down the left wing to the corner. Watch him play against Scotland and the Barbarians and notice how many times he and Mark Ella pass the ball to each other and run off one another. I see that and have visions of what they could have done together when Campo was at his best. 13. Andy Slack People underrate Slack because he wasn't really a 'flair player'. But I've come to appreciate what Slack for what he was - a player who hardly made any mistakes. And when it came to doing what had to be done, he was there. Slack's best moment of the tour came against Scotland. As Campo and Mark Ella recall, Slack was a renowned bad passer when it came to really long passes. Against Scotland, Roger Gould took the crash ball and offloaded to Slack. Slack had a massive pass to make to Campese, and BANG right on target. 12. Mike Lynagh Revisionist thinking tells us that Lynagh was picked for his goal-kicking... and he was. But few people remember that it wasn't until the final Test against Scotland that Lynagh finally found his kicking shoes. Against England he had some incredibly near misses from tough spots and I felt for him because that was just his second Test. Against Ireland he yet again had a below par (for him) day with the boot. Against Wales the goal kicking was given to Roger Gould, who performed very well. This makes me wonder: should Michael Hawker have been kept in the side? I suppose Jones' decision is vindicated by Lynagh's performance against Scotland, where his boot took Scotland out of the game. That was one of the most beautiful kicking performances I've ever seen. 11. Brendan Moon I liked the nice story about how admist celebrations after beating England, the Aussies took a second to recognise that one of their favourite people was flying back to Australia with his mate Paul McLean. "TO BENNY!" 10. Mark Ella Everything about his running game was brilliant on this tour. Once again, I commend anybody who can to watch his performance against Ireland. He made some uncharacteristic mistakes against Scotland, but still come up with that 4th try. Maybe I'll nominate that double-loop against the Barbarians as another great Ella moments. Bill McLaren: "Ella... Slack... Ella... LYNAGH STRAIGHT THROUGH". 9. Nick Farr-Jones There were things NFJ didn't do well early on in his career that he got better at, but then there were things he was always good at, like running the blinds. Against Wales, Australia scored two tries thanks to Nick darting down the blinds. Against Scotland he scored one of the most shocking tries of the tour, when he sprinted across Tom Lawton, throwing him a short pass from a line-out, resulting in NFJ scoring in the corner. That try is a reminder of how big NFJ was for a halfback in his day because that try couldn't have been scored by any other halfback in those days. 8. Steve Tuynman Bob Dwyer thinks he used his support players better than Mark Loane - he's right. Tuynaman was great when he set Campo down the left wing against Scotland. But the highlight of his tour was probably scoring that try against Wales - the infamous pushover try! 7. Simon Poidevin Unbelievably underrated in his ability to link with the backs. Against England he took the final pass from Campo to score a try. If he had one weakness, it was his ball handling, which was evidenced by how he messed-up a dead certain try against Ireland (after some brilliant work by Campese). But he'd pay Campo back against Wales when Campo darted down the blinds, swerved past a few players, off-loaded to Poidevin, who promptly offloaded to Lynagh. Lynagh scored under the post and Poidevin passed it to him! Oh and who took the ball from Lynagh against the Babaas? Poidevin. Just great at linking with the backs. He knew where to run all the time it would seem. The amount of territory he covered was sensational and gosh he'd just harrass the opposition for all 80 mins. Just an indispensible member of the side. 6. David Codey I suppose he was the right man for the job. It's easy to forget that Chris Roche was once mentioned in the same sentence as Simon Poidevin in terms of determination and guts. People also forget that there were times when Roche kept Poidevin out of the Wallaby side, such as against Scotland in 1982. What he lacked in height he made up with in terms of speed around the ground and sheer guts. Jean-Pierre Rives respected him tremendously. But Alan Jones was obsessed with height and Codey was always going to make the side. It was between Poidevin and Roche and Poidevin was taller. That sucks for a man who was told he was too small to be a backrower and made his way to being the vice-captain of the Wallabies. The sight of Lucas, Poidevin and Roche tackling everything that moved against New Zealand in 1982 was inspirational. 5. Steve Cutler Absolutely flogged the Welsh in the line-out. I forget who he was jumping against, but I'm pretty sure he was a British Lion. His only poor game on tour was against Ireland, where Donal Lenihan player exceptionally well against him. That was a really scrappy game for the Wallabies, and in the end it was Ella that was the difference between the sides. 4. Steve Williams When Cutler was under pressure against Ireland, Williams came to the fore. Williams is actually really underrated in how much territory he covered for a lock. He reminds me somewhat of Gary Whetton in the games I've seen of him. He wasn't the go-to-guy like Cutler was, or Hayden was to NZ, but he was incredibly aggressive and covered the ground remarkably well. 3. Andy McIntyre Missed out on a try against Wales when Peter Grigg's pass went over his head. I believe that still haunts him! LOL. Had a bit of mongrel in him, as evidenced by the punch he threw against the English. 2. Tom Lawton SAMSON! Lawton's call for the 8-man shove that resulted in the infamous pushover try. But his best moment of the tour probably came against Wales when he scored a try himself! Boy he looked mightily happy he did! His line-out throwing was precise as well. 1. Topo Rodriguez Who would want to be a prop after watching Topo Rodriguez and Iain Milne squaring off against one another? If you watch the Barbarians game, in which Stan Pilecki was given a colsolation game to play, it looked as if a young man was torturing his father when Iain Milne began boring into Stan Pilecki. Poor Stan's legs were buckling hard! But my memory of Topo Rodriguez took Milne on for the whole Scotish game, and he perhaps came out on top in the last 20 minutes. Everything before that looked like a titantic contest. One of my disappointments watching the Scotish game was that Australia only had one 5m scrum for the whole game, and I wanted to see what would happen if they went for a pushover. I believe there was something wrong with the feed or something because we never got to see how Australia's pack would have fared against Scotland.

Scott the Aussie the ABC produced a Wallabies 84 Grandslam video and it used to be available on order through their stores.I knew I'd been robbed by a thief with good taste in the 90's because he took all the topshelf and my copy of that video.

Onside, At age 96 going on 97, this status could change any day(!), but last time I checked Stan Bissett remained the oldest living Wallaby. And Nicky Barr passed away early last year I think aged 92. The 1939/40 Wallabies were cruelled by rotten luck. War was declared the day they arrived at Southampton & the tour called off 2 or so days later. On the way back, the team played a match at Bombay (now Mumbai) against the British Army. Those members of the team who had never played a test, including Bissett & Barr, got their one & only opportunity to run out in a Wallaby jumper. From memory, the team was - Clifford, Nicholson, Carrick, Smith, Porter, Collins, Gibbons(c), McLean, Oxenham, Windon, Bissett, Monti, Pearson, Barr, Turnbull. Only Clifford, Collins, Gibbons, Windon & Monti had played previous tests. Mickey gibbons was tour vice-captain. Smith is the Len Smith who was sensationally dumped as Kangaroos skipper in 1948 ( a personal double blow for him). McLean is Bill McLean who was chosen as skipper of the 1947/48 team, only to break his leg in the 6th tour game. He was one of the famous Mclean clan, son of a former Wallaby. Windon is Keith Windon, older brother of the even more famous Col (who played after WW2). Vaux Nicholson & another member of the team, Boyd Oxlade, were sons of Wallabies from the early 1900s. The 1939/40 Wallabies have many fascinating personal stories, especially stories of heroics & severe hardship during the war. Fullback Mick Clifford was killed in a RAAF training accident, while centre Winston Ide was drowned when the ship carrying him as a Japanese prisoner of war was torpedoed & sank. These stories, & many others, tug at the heart strings.

Thanks Sheek,Hitler stuffed rugby in Victoria. And Andrew,you know I am a new comer to rugby because you have had the opportunity to suggest adjustments to way I see things in previous posts . Much appreciated. By definition (mine) a newcomer to rugby is somebody who has never played the game.I'm two hours north of Brisbane these days, but before these days , where I now live on what I used to spend on lunch, I lived in Hunters Hill. Despite being an ex Victorian , I was attracted to the Rugby scene.One day before a test match at Concorde , our little group were having a few jars at the Woollich Pier Hotel.There I met this chap who played for the Wallabies and went to South Africa in the 1950's. I was amazed ,and somewhat in awe of this 'invisible' person.Reason being ,coming from an AFL background where heroes are worshiped ,I could not believe this man was 'anonamous'.But he was.And that's rugby.I met another Wallaby who was a farmer on the outskirts of Sydney up the back end of the Hawkesbury somewhere.Young bloke by comparison.Told me his name, but I forgot.And here he was with his mates talking to my mates on the way to Concorde.One of the crowd.Cue in the rack.Done his job.Next.Rugby is a sport apart ,it really is.

Onside....you're almost right about the 1963 Wallabies. They didn't travel by ship, but they did do a horror plane trip. Perth - Cocos Islands to refuel - then Mauritius - and finally Johannesburg. I don't know how many hours, but it would have been pretty uncomfortable I imagine. Jim Boyce would be able to give us recollections if he sees this thread. Sheek - you'll be glad to hear that I toured to Bangkok Tens two years ago with a team called the Nicky Barr Tomahawks, named after the great man and the Tomahawk fighter plane that he flew in combat. We won it, courtesy of some great running and organising from former Wallaby and Balmain Tigers centre James Grant, who still plays exceptional rugby at 41 and can clap on the gas when he needs to. Scott the Aussie - I'm pretty sure that one part of the DVD series "The Rise and Rise of Australian Rugby" is devoted to the Grand Slam tour. I can't say for sure since I only have the Bledisloe part, but check out the ABC Shop website. They sell the series, and the Bledisloe version at least has extra discs with full versions of 3 important Wallabies v All Blacks Tests.

And my best wallaby XV, plus bench, pre-1967 dating back to 1899. 15-Alec Ross 14-Charlie Eastes 13-Cyril Towers 12-Trevor Allan(c) 11-Dally Messenger 10-Tom Lawton snr 9-Ken Catchpole 8-Jack Ford 7-Col Windon 6-Tom Richards 5-Rob Heming 4-Graham Cooke 3-Jon White 2-Peter Johnson(vc) 1-Bill Cerutti 22-Rod Phelps 21-Phil Hawthorne 20-Des Connor 19-Aub Hodgson 18-Dick Thornett 17-John Thornett 16-Eddie Bonis No spot for Chris McKivat or Tony Miller. Oh, & I omitted Ray Price in previous post. I guess I would have him in 2nd XV, move Poido to blindside & drop Corny to 3rds in place of Shaw. And still no place for Greg Davis or Rocky Elsom. Ouch!

Onside, The short answer is that WW2 blunted the development of rugby in Victoria. But this remains an unsatisfactory answer. What is equally intriguing is why Australian rugby enjoyed such a wonderful renaissance between 1929 (when Qld rejoined the fray) until 1939 (the year WW2 broke out). Albert Ross, The deaf guy you're thinking of is Keith Besomo, who came to Easts & NSW via WA. He was a huge man & poorly treated by selectors, who didn't know how to get the best out of him, & were probably a little embarassed by his disability. Imbeciles - if you'll excuse me for saying so! Besomo made the tour of France in 1976, NZ in 1978 & was booted off the tour of Argentina after being sent of in a grade game. He wasn't a dirty player. He had continued to play on after NOT hearing the ref's whistle. His only test was against Ireland in 1979. Harry, Have been reading Bob Dwyer's book 'Full Time. Back to 1984, if Slack, Ella, O'Connor, Loane had all been around - who would have been in the team, & who captain? Ella, O'Connor & Loane definite starters. Maybe Loane captain, who 95% of time would be my choice whenever I think back to 1984. The key would have been getting Loane to be less dogmatic, no easy task! But if Alan jones could see the wisdom of leaving Ella alone to weave his magic, then Loane might have too. Finding the key periods of Australian rugby history is a bit like charting scattered islands in the Pacific Ocean - 1908/09 - 1927/30 - 1933/34 - 1947/49 - 1963,65 - 1978,80,82,84,86 - 1991/94 - 1998-2001. For the info of all interested readers, my best Wallaby team 1968 (roughly when I first started following) to 2008 (span of 40 years) first hand sightings: 15-Matt Burke 14-David campese 13-Mick O'Connor 12-Tim Horan 11-Brendan Moon 10-Mark Ella 9-Nick Farr-Jones(c) 8-Mark Loane 7-George Smith 6-Willie Ofahengaue 5-John Eales(vc) 4-David Hillhouse 3-Ewen McKenzie 2-Phil kearns 1-Topo Rodriguez 22-Jason Little 21-Mike Lynagh 20-John Hipwell 19-Simon Poidevin 18-Tim Gavin 17-Tony D'Arcy 16-Tom Lawton A second XV (including above bench) would read - R.Gould, B.Tune, J.Little, M.Lynagh, J.Roff, S.Larkham, J.Hipwell, T.Gavin, S.Poidevin, G.Cornelsen, S.Cutler, D.Vickerman, A.McIntyre, T.Lawton, A.D'Arcy. A third XV (just to show I'm not crazy!) - C.Latham, J.Cole, D.Herbert, M.Hawker, L.Tuqiri, P.McLean, G.Gregan, T.Kefu, D.Wilson, A.Shaw, D.Giffin, S.Williams, A.Blades, W.Ross, D. Crowley.

Sheek thanks for your response re Slack and I agree with your point of view to a very large degree - although O'Conner was perhaps the silkiest of runners I have ever seen in a Wallaby jersey and would have never been out of place in any team. Slack did a lot of classy, typical Slack things that didn't get hugely noticed in amongst the Campese/Ella/Gould glamour on the 84 tour eg. watch his beautiful quick hands put the player into space for the first try against Scotland (Campese I think, or Gould) scores. My Dad spoke very highly of that 48 team.

Albert Ross Sorry I cant help. But if the person you refer to had impaired vision, he would undoubtedly have been a ref.

Altona Meadows, VIC?

His name was Meadows , I think....?

Onside or anyone Who was the deaf player who played for Vic and Australia in the 1970s(?)

Another masterpiece Sheek. You really get the discussion going sometimes. Hugh

Sheek,Google is magic.Appropo of your above post I found out; Andrew (nicky) Barr OBE, Military Cross,DFC & Bar .How good is that. and HE PLAYED FOR VICTORIA 1936 to 1939 I did not look up Stan Bissett (I will),but came across Sir Edward 'weary"Dunlop and a story Spiro wrote about him in The RoarJune 17 2008(missed it) He played two Bledisloe tests matches against the All Blacks 1932 and 1934.I realise you must have all this down pat Sheek ,but this is my long winded point These two SUPERSTAR famous Australians, Sir Weary one of the most all time famous Australian, played rugby for Victoria.For VICTORIA for goodness sake.What happened to Rugby in Victoria? when the State was able to produce Wallabies. And Wallabies that played in the local competition. Still waters run deep.Mates of mine down there ,AFL buffs,never miss a Test match in Melbourne. Never.Ghosts of the past.There is an emotional rugby foundation Victoria.All thats required is it being tapped .When we talk about State of Origin feelings,Victorians just need somebody to turn on the switch. Tough grown men do cry.I bet there was a tear shed when the one year AFC experiment folded.You can imagine it cant you,waiting,waiting ,waiting ,for a chance to rebuild, then they are given a window seat, and watch it all removed again with out having any influence. Sorry I got off the thread Sheek,but sometimes there is nowhere else to park little thoughts

Onside, One of my favourite books is 'Australian Rugby; The Game & The Players' by Jack Pollard, both 84 & 94 editions. Pollard was working on the 2004 edition when he passed away. I've asked Spiro why no-one else has volunteered to finish the 3rd edition. Anyway, what is great about the players from the amateur era, is the fascinating stories they have to tell outside of rugby. I suspect that while current & future pen portraits of players will list voluminous achievements on the sporting field, they will be sterile as life studies. Take Nicky Barr & Stan Bissett, both selected for the doomed 1939/40 tour, called off 3 days after they arrived in England, due to the declaration of WW2. Barr became a fighter ace in North Africa. He was shot down 3 times I think, bailed out twice, crash-landed once. He was captured, escaped & recaptured 4-5 times. He eventually escaped again & saw out the war fighting with Italian resistance fighters. Bissett fought on the Kokoda Track, & in a poignant story cradled his dying brother in his arms for several hours as his life ebbed away. They looked back on their youth & the fun they shared. Both Barr & Bissett won bravery medals. There are so many other wonderful stories as well. Professionalism was inevitable - a man is entitled to a fair day's pay for a fair day's work, even in sport, which earns massive money for media outlets & corporations. But professionalism in rugby didn't have to quite work out the way it did. But that's another story again!