The 1982 Kangaroo tour was the fifteenth Kangaroo tour where the Australian national rugby league team played a number of matches against British and French rugby league teams, in addition to the Test matches. The Australia national rugby league team have generally since 1908 barring wartime, toured Great Britain every four years often capping the tour with matches and Tests in France. This regular touring side (and in recent years all Australian representative sides) are known as the Kangaroos.

The 1982 Kangaroos, coached by Frank Stanton dominated, winning both Test series against Great Britain (three Tests) and France (two Tests); winning every match of the tour and earning the nickname The Invincibles. This was the first Kangaroo undefeated touring side winning twenty-two matches played and scoring 1,005 points with 120 against at an average of 45.6 points per game while conceding only 5.4 points per game. The twenty-eight player squad was captained by Max Krilich, with Wally Lewis his deputy. The next Kangaroo Tour was staged in 1986.

Touring party The team was coached by Balmain Tigers coach Frank Stanton who was making his third tour. Stanton's first tour came as a player in 1963–64, this was his second consecutive as coach after also coaching the 1978 Kangaroo tour. Manly-Warringah's Max Krilich was making his second Kangaroo tour and was named captain.Heads, Lester p309 Queensland captain Wally Lewis was named as tour vice-captain.

Interviewed by journalist/author Ian Whiticker in 2004 Krilich said about the talented squad; "The players in that squad were yet to reach their full potential. We were criticised as a weak side, but nobody knew how great a player Wayne Pearce was going to be on the tour. Wally Lewis was still in his early 20s, and many of the Queenslanders were in the early stages of their careers". He also spoke of Stanton (who was his Manly-Warringah club coach when he had won the 1976 and 1978 NSWRFL premierships, the second of which Krilich was captain of the Sea Eagles): "Frank was a mentally tough coach who totally believed in what he told his players. Great credit must go to Stanton who played down the accomplishment and kept our heads straight."Whiticker p319

While the pair did not enjoy an easy relationship, mostly due to Stanton not being impressed with his attitude to training or habits on tour which actually caused him to put on weight, Wally Lewis also found respect for Stanton he had not previously experienced after making his test debut under him against France in 1981. After missing selection for the first Test in Hull in favour of Parramatta's 1982 premiership winning Brett Kenny (Lewis was selected on an extended bench but wasn't used), Stanton challenged Lewis to get back into shape and win his way back into the Test team, something he achieved with selection on the bench for the second Test in Wigan and the third Test in Leeds. Lewis later admitted that early on in the tour his poor attitude did not sit well with Stanton and that it had led to his missing first test selection. Although this was his first Kangaroo Tour, it was not the first tour of Great Britain and France for Lewis who had been a member of the 1977 Australian Schoolboys rugby union tour of Japan, Great Britain and France, a team that included future dual-rugby international Michael O'Connor as well as the Ella brothers Mark, Gary and Glen, cousins of 1982 tourist Steve Ella.

Six players from the 1982 NSWRL premiership winning Parramatta Eels were selected in the squad, a new Kangaroo tour record for the club with all six players playing in at least one test each on the tour. Manly, the team they defeated in the inaugural Winfield Cup Grand Final, also had six players selected. One Manly player considered unlucky not to tour was their Queensland back rower Paul Vautin who had made his test debut earlier in the year against New Zealand and was one of Manly's best in their run to the Grand Final. Max Krilich later would tell that it was his belief that Vautin's comment during the year that representing Queensland was a bigger honour than playing for Australia had ultimately cost him a place on the tour. Ironically, Vautin would be back in the test team for the tests against New Zealand in 1983. 1982 Brisbane premiers Wynnum-Manly had two players selected (Gene Miles and Rod Morris), while the team they defeated in the BRL Grand Final Souths Magpies were represented by Mal Meninga, a goal kicking Queensland centre who was as big as a second rower () and could run with the pace of a winger.

One notable absentee was Western Suburbs Terry Lamb who had represented NSW in the 1981 State of Origin game. Lamb was originally selected to tour but declined to do so due to his upcoming wedding to his fiancé Kim.Last Straw for Lamb

Tour managers were the Newtown administrator Frank Farrington and Queenslands, Tom Drysdale. Open Rugby magazine claimed the Australians had brought "a new dimension of excitement and adventure" to the game and former England great Alex Murphy, who called each test for the BBC alongside Ray French, called then "men from another planet."

This was the first Kangaroo tour since the introduction of State of Origin and it allowed Queensland to counter New South Wales' long dominance in representative selection with a record-equalling eleven Queenslanders selected for the tour. This was a considerable increase on the Queensland representation in the 1978 Kangaroos when only three players were selected. Two of those players, Kerry Boustead and Rod Morris, were also members of the 1982 Kangaroos.

Despite there being a record number, the selection of only 11 Queenslander's in the 28 man touring squad was controversial. Queensland had won the 1982 State of Origin series despite being comparatively under prepared due to the NSWRFL clubs refusing to release their Queensland players for pre-series training. Among the Queensland Origin representatives to miss selection were Manly-Warringah's Paul Vautin and Chris Close (who had been the Man of the Match in both Origin games in 1980 and 1981), Wynnum-Manly fullback Colin Scott and South Sydney outside back Mitch Brennan.

Future Kangaroos captain Mal Meninga, making the first of his record four consecutive Kangaroo Tours, was the leading point scorer on tour with 166 from 10 tries and 68 goals, including 48 points in the three Tests against Great Britain (2 tries, 21 goals), and 17 points in the two Tests against France (1 try, 7 goals). John Ribot was the leading try scorer on tour with 25 from just 14 games, including a try in the 3rd test against Great Britain. Ribot added 20 goals to his points tally to join Meninga as the only players on tour to score over 100 points. Meninga's second rowers size coupled with his wingers pace made him a sensation on the tour. He was often bigger than the British forwards Australia played and he could also score length of the field tries. His signature became much sought after both during and after the Kangaroo tour with multiple clubs chasing him. Ultimately he would go on to sign for a season with St Helens in 1984–85 where he would replicate his 1982 tour form to the delight of Saints fans.

Player Club Position(s) Tests Matches Tries Goals F/Goals Points Chris Anderson Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 0 12 8 0 0 24 Kerry Boustead Eastern Suburbs Roosters 6 13 9 0 0 27 Les Boyd Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 3 14 3 0 0 9 Greg Brentnall Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 6 13 3 0 0 9 Ray Brown Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 0 14 0 0 0 0 Greg Conescu Norths Devils (Qld) 0 14 2 1 0 8 Steve Ella Parramatta Eels 0 13 21 1 0 65 Eric Grothe Parramatta Eels 4 14 21 1 0 65 Rohan Hancock Warwick Wattles (Qld) 1 10 0 0 0 0 Brett Kenny Parramatta Eels 6 12 6 0 0 18 Max Krilich (c) Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 6 12 1 0 0 3 Wally Lewis (vc) Fortitude Valley Diehards (Qld) 3 14 3 9 0 27 Paul McCabe Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 3 13 7 0 0 21 Don McKinnon North Sydney Bears 0 10 3 1 0 11 Mal Meninga Souths Logan Magpies (Qld) 6 14 10 68 0 166 Gene Miles Wynnum-Manly Seagulls (Qld) 0 11 1 0 0 3 Rod Morris Wynnum-Manly Seagulls (Qld) 0 12 0 0 0 0 Steve Mortimer Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 0 9 6 1 0 20 John Muggleton Parramatta Eels 1 14 9 0 0 27 Mark Murray Fortitude Valley Diehards (Qld) 0 10 4 1 0 14 Wayne Pearce Balmain Tigers 5 13 5 0 0 15 Ray Price Parramatta Eels 3 9 2 0 0 6 John Ribot Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 2 14 25 20 0 115 Rod Reddy St George Dragons 4 12 2 0 0 6 Steve Rogers Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 5 16 10 7 0 44 Ian Schubert Eastern Suburbs Roosters 0 12 3 0 0 9 Peter Sterling Parramatta Eels 5 12 8 0 0 24 Craig Young St George Dragons 4 11 1 0 0 3

By club The touring side was represented by 17 New South Welshmen (N) and 11 Queenslanders (Q).

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles (5): Max Krilich (captain) (N), John Ribot (Q), Les Boyd (N), Paul McCabe (Q), Ray Brown (N) Parramatta Eels (6): Brett Kenny (N), Peter Sterling (N), Steve Ella (N), Eric Grothe (N), Ray Price (N), John Muggleton (N) Canterbury Bulldogs (3): Greg Brentnall (N), Chris Anderson (N), Steve Mortimer (N) Fortitude Valley Diehards (2): Wally Lewis (vice-captain) (Q), Mark Murray (Q) St George Dragons (2): Rod Reddy (Q), Craig Young (N) Wynnum-Manly Seagulls (2): Gene Miles (Q), Rod Morris (Q) Balmain Tigers (1): Wayne Pearce (N) Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (1): Steve Rogers (N) Eastern Suburbs Roosters (2): Ian Schubert (N), Kerry Boustead (Q) Norths Devils (1): Greg Conescu (Q) North Sydney Bears (1): Don McKinnon (N) Souths Magpies (1): Mal Meninga (Q) Warwick Wattles (1): Rohan Hancock (Q)

Papua New Guinea and Western Australia Before flying to England, half the squad, led by Kangaroos vice-captain Wally Lewis, went to Perth to play Western Australia, while the other half, along with coach Stanton, travelled to Papua New Guinea for Australia's first ever Test match against the Papua New Guinea Kumuls, won 38–2 by the Kangaroos. Nine of the players who travelled to PNG with Stanton would go on to play in the first Test against Great Britain. Winger John Ribot crossed for four tries (though he would be overlooked for the first two Ashes Tests in favour of Eric Grothe), while fullback Greg Brentnall scored twice. Other try scorers for the Kangaroos were Kerry Boustead, Brett Kenny, Mal Meninga and Steve Rogers, while Meninga kicked 4 goals. Peter Sterling, Brett Kenny, Mark Murray and Ray Brown made their test debuts in the match.

Those missing from the 2nd test win over New Zealand earlier in the year at the Sydney Cricket Ground were Michael Cronin who did not tour, and Wally Lewis, Steve Mortimer, Les Boyd and Rod Morris who played in Perth on the same day. Of the quartet that played in Perth, only Boyd would go on to play in the first test against Great Britain.

FB 1Kungas KuveuRW 2Alan ReroCE 3Ifiso SegeyaroCE 4James YipLW 5D. TimiFE 6Jon Joseph (c)HB 7Alfred KabavasPR 8Tara GauHK 9Otti AsotauPR 10Joe TepSR 11Arebo TaumakuSR 12L. TeteLK 13Roy LoitiveSubstitutions:IC 14Francis MatmilloIC 15Ekon TogiliCoach: Skerry Palanga FB 1 Greg BrentnallLW 2 John RibotCE 3 Mal MeningaCE 4 Steve RogersRW 5 Kerry BousteadFE 6 Brett KennyHB 7 Peter SterlingPR 8 Craig YoungHK 9 Max Krilich (c)PR 10 Rohan HancockSR 11 John MuggletonSR 12{ Rod ReddyLK 13 Ray PriceSubstitutions:IC 14 Mark MurrayIC 15 Ray BrownCoach: Frank Stanton

FB 1RW 2CE 3CE 4LW 5FE 6HB 7PR 8HK 9PR 10SR 11SR 12LK 13Substitutions:IC 14IC 15Coach: FB 1 Ian SchubertLW 2 Eric GrotheCE 3 Steve EllaCE 4 Gene MilesRW 5 Chris AndersonFE 6 Wally Lewis (c)HB 7 Steve MortimerPR 8 Rod MorrisHK 9 Greg ConescuPR 10 Don McKinnonSR 11 Les BoydSR 12 Paul McCabeLK 13 Wayne PearceSubstitutions:IC 14IC 15Coach:

In Perth, the Kangaroos crossed for 13 tries (with Eric Grothe bagging four) and predictably defeated WA 57–5.

Great Britain