The 1939 New Zealand rugby league tour of Great Britain and France was a scheduled tour by the New Zealand national rugby league team of Europe between September and December 1939. After arriving in the United Kingdom in August 1939, the tour was abandoned after one match had been played due to the outbreak of the Second World War.

Invitation In October 1938 the British Rugby Football League (RFL) invited the New Zealand Rugby League to send a team to tour Britain during the latter part of 1939. The RFL also suggested that the side visit France as well and offered to help with arrangements for the French leg. At a special meeting of the New Zealand League Council in November 1938 both offers were accepted.

Squad After trial games a squad of 26 players (14 backs and 12 forwards) was finalised on 13 July 1939.

+ Backs Name Region Age s Jack Hemi Auckland 23 Jack Smith Auckland 21 Threequarters s Jack Campbell Canterbury 22 Arthur McInnarney Auckland 21 Ces Davison Canterbury 29 Laurie Mills Auckland 21 s Verdun Scott Auckland 22 Tom Chase Auckland 26 Arthur Kay Auckland 24 Wally Tittleton Auckland 25 Halves s Bob Banham Auckland 24 Dave Solomon Auckland 26 s Ivor Stirling Auckland 23 Len Brown Canterbury 25

+ Forwards Name Region Age s George Orman West Coast 27 Bert Leatherbarrow Auckland 29 s, s and s George Mitchell Auckland 24 Ross Jones Auckland 21 Joe Cootes Wellington 25 Hawea Mataira Auckland 28 John Clark Canterbury 27 George Bellaney Canterbury 29 George Beadle Waikato 25 Pita Ririnui Auckland 23 Rex King Canterbury 28 Harold Milliken Auckland 25

J.A. Redwood (chairman of the New Zealand Rugby League) and G. Grey Campbell (chairman of the Auckland Rugby League) were named as the co-managers of the team but Grey Campbell later withdrew due to ill-health and was replaced by R. Doble, also of the Auckland Rugby League. Canterbury forward Rex King was named captain of the team.

Tour The squad sailed from Wellington on 27 July 1939 onboard the RMS Rangitiki and arrived in London on 29 August 1939. Arriving at the Beechwood Hotel, Harrogate – the squad's base for the tour – on 31 August the team tried to maintain a normal attitude even in the face of the deteriorating political situation around them but acknowledged that the situation was liable to change at any time and in an interview, Doble volunteered the services of the team to help with air raid precautions in the Harrogate area. The first game of the tour took place as planned on 2 September as the tourists beat St Helens 19–3 in front of a crowd of 5,000 at Knowsley Road, but the declaration of war by Britain against Germany the following morning meant a review of the tour's viability.

An emergency meeting of the RFL tour sub-committee attended by the New Zealand managers on 5 September concluded that no further matches were possible and "the only course was to endeavour to arrange for the return of the party to New Zealand at the earliest possible moment". With the tour officially abandoned the remaining fixtures were all cancelled but while awaiting a ship home permission was given for the game against Dewsbury to take place on 9 September. Despite being announced at short notice the game was watched by 6,200 and the tourists won 22–10 to end the tour with a 100% winning record. Through the intervention of the New Zealand High Commissioner in London, Bill Jordan, the team were able to return to New Zealand on-board the Rangitiki – the same ship they had arrived on and arrived back in Auckland in late October.

The New Zealand Rugby League established that the curtailment of the tour had led to a net loss of £3,827 to the League.

Schedule The schedule of games in Britain was agreed in June 1939 and the French fixtures were to be arranged while the British part of the tour was in progress. Had the tour continued there would have been 21 games against English club sides, representative matches against Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumberland, a test match against Wales and a three-test series against Great Britain. Date Opponents Venue 2 September St Helens Knowsley Road 7 September Hull Kingston Rovers Old Craven Park 9 September Dewsbury Crown Flatt 13 September Barrow Craven Park 16 September Warrington Wilderspool 18 September Yorkshire Odsal, Bradford 23 September Halifax Thrum Hall 25 September Widnes Naughton Park 30 September Great Britain Station Road, Swinton 4 October Hunslet Parkside 7 October Oldham Watersheddings 11 October Lancashire Wilderspool, Warrington 14 October Cumberland Workington 18 October Huddersfield Fartown 21 October Hull F.C. The Boulevard 25 October York Clarence Street 28 October Wigan Central Park 1 November Castleford Wheldon Road 4 November Swinton Station Road 11 November Great Britain Headingley, Leeds 15 November Broughton Rangers Belle Vue 18 November Wales Stebonheath Park 22 November Bramley Barley Mow 25 November Bradford Northern Odsal 2 December Wakefield Trinity Belle Vue 6 December Leeds Headingley 9 December Salford The Willows 16 December Great Britain Odsal, Bradford

Results

References Footnotes

Notes