Rugby Australia History

The Australian national rugby league team have been around since the sport was introduced in Australia in 1908 and they have been comfortably the most successful national side from any of the major rugby league-playing countries.

In the history of the World Cup the Kangaroos have won an incredible nine tournaments out of the 13 they have played i a statistic that proves better than no other just how dominant they have been.

The first Kangaroos tour abroad was to Britain in 1908 and was dubbed "The Ashes" by the media, after the title used for England-Australia cricket matches.

They lost the series 2-1 and it took them until 1958 until they finally beat Great Britain away from home.

Since that victory, though, the Kangaroos have never lost a tour of Britain and added those nine World Cups to the trophy cabinet, proving just how successful they have become.

Australia have bred many outstanding players, but it is generally recognised that stand-off Wally Lewis who plied his trade in the 1980s and early 1990s and Andrew "Joey" Johns have been the pick of the bunch.

Lewis is regarded as an "immortal" in Australia, captaining the national side between 1984 and 1989 with great success and distinction, while half-back Johns is the highest scorer in Australian domestic rugby league history.