1966–67 Australia rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and France

Manager

Tour captain(s)

Summary

P	W	D	L

Total

36	19	03	14

Test match

05	02	00	03

Opponent

P	W	D	L

Wales

1	1	0	0

Scotland

1	0	0	1

England

1	1	0	0

Ireland

1	0	0	1

France

1	0	0	1

P	W	D	L

36	19	03	14

05	02	00	03

P	W	D	L

1	1	0	0

1	0	0	1

1	1	0	0

1	0	0	1

1	0	0	1

Between October 1966 and March 1967 the Australia national rugby union team – the Wallabies – conducted a world tour on which they played five Tests and thirty-one minor tour matches. Under the captaincy of John Thornett they toured UK, Ireland, France and Canada winning nineteen matches, losing fourteen and drawing three. At one stage they failed to win in four successive matches although in the Test match against England they gave the home side its heaviest defeat in 16 years.

Bill McLaughlin a 1936 two Test cap Wallaby who would later serve a term a President of the Australian Rugby Union, was the tour manager. His test came early when after the Oxford University match – the 2nd match of the tour – Queensland hooker Ross Cullen was accused of biting the ear of Oxford front-rower Ollie Waldron. Waldron's ear needed treatment and McLaughlin acted to ban Cullen from the tour as punishment. Cullen was put on the next flight to Sydney and never played for his country again.

Alan Roper was the Assistant Manager, the traditional coaching role of the touring party. Roper had been a schoolboy coach at Riverview in Sydney in the 1950s but had coached at the top-level in Australia since at least 1962 having success with the 1963 Australia rugby union tour of South Africa and again against the Springboks in a two Test domestic series in 1965.

John Thornett an exceptional leader of men, was the squad captain. Thornett had at the tour's beginning already made 36 Test appearances for Australia, 15 as captain. He had been entrenched as Wallaby captain since 1963, leading the side more times than any player to that point in Australia's rugby history. He was making his eight Wallaby tour, his fourth as the team leader.

AUSTRALIA: Jim Lenehan, Alan Cardy, Dick Marks, John Brass, Stewart Boyce, Phil Hawthorne, Ken Catchpole (c), Jim Miller, Peter Johnson, Tony Miller, Ross Teitzel, Rob Heming, Michael Purcell, Greg Davis, John O'Gorman.

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