In addition to England’s professional stars being in action, the amateur players of England Community Lions also got the chance to fly the flag this autumn on a successful tour of Western Australia, writes DAVE PARKINSON.
THE England Community Lions Tour 2024 will be remembered for its harmony, camaraderie, and resilience, in addition to a historic 2-0 series win in Western Australia. Between 13th October and 5th November, the Lions became the first touring team to win in Perth against the state side since 1975.
Our initial flight from Manchester was held up for 45 minutes on the runway which led to a dash across Dubai airport for the linking flight. Other than that, there was no significant disruption, and the group landed in Australia on Monday evening. It took a few days for jetlag to subside with some of the lads reportedly waking at two or three o’clock in the morning and going for walks at 4am!
With the three games being played at North Beach Sea Eagles, this became the Lions’ training base. The Sea Eagles have a particularly strong pedigree in Western Australia, winning the most recent championship and providing several players for the Lions’ first opponents.
After narrowly losing the warm-up game against WA Chairman’s XIII, 24-22, came a visit to Perth’s Optus Stadium, a venue that has hosted State of Origin and is home to the two Western Australian AFL teams.
Our base until Halloween was the Rendezvous Hotel in Scarborough, a coastline completely different from Yorkshire’s namesake, with its regulation 6am starts, fantastic beaches, surf, and physical activity.
The Lions worked hard ahead of the first test, where their defence roared them to a memorable win against Western Australia. It was hard-earned and left Head Coach Paul Couch proud. “A lot of hard work has gone into that, not just tonight but over 16 months. From all the coaching staff to the background staff, to all the players that trialled, that 22-0 is for them as well.”
WA couldn’t believe the pride and spirit of the tourists. The following day saw the squad venture out to a state cricket game at the WACA ground. They later met up with family and travelling support for a BBQ hosted at North Beach.
Next came a trip to Rottnest Island, and an early morning boat ride. The port was little more than a 15-minute drive away and the choppy seas certainly woke a few of the squad up. Following disembarkment, the party split up with some finding tranquil beaches and coves to relax in, others taking to the sea, some walking and others traversing the island on bikes, and some going in search of indigenous marsupial, the Quokka.
It was a glorious day, with much-needed relaxation for everyone and some of the staff opted to take in a couple of other sporting events with Perth Glory FC in A-League action against Wellington and the Australian Netball side in town on Sunday against New Zealand’s dominant Silver Ferns.
Sunday and Monday brought a return to training with early morning sessions. One of these included some emotional family videos that Steve McCormack, there in a welfare capacity for Rugby League Cares, collated. The second week was a tough ask with everyone away from their families, but they showed superb character to rise again and defeat a state side that contained five changes from the previous game and a flown in player with Queensland Cup experience. The Lions scored four tries and had to be on their mettle in a second half that saw WA dominate. They held out with a Danny Rowse drop-goal seeing him into retirement, a hero, as the Lions rearguard defended a 23-14 lead.
Halloween brought a change of scenery, and a 45-kilometre decant to Rockingham. There was more action to come with an appearance at the Harmony Nines. Despite reservations in some quarters, the Lions again gave their all to this format of the sport. This tournament proved my personal highlight. I loved the opening ceremony, the multicultural nature of the competition with teams representing their heritage from New Zealand’s North and East Regions, Samoa, Niue, Tonga and there was even an appearance from former St Helens star Ben Barba, playing for an Australian Indigenous side. It was vibrant with schoolboys, girls, women, masters and social sides all having their moments of glory, although injuries hampered the Lions with backline stars in particular feeling the strain.
Despite this, the Lions won both their games on Friday evening and claimed a must-win victory in their final game on the second day to make the quarter-finals. Sadly, they were just edged out by Western Fijian Blues and the men’s competition was won by the indigenous side. After being welcomed back to the WA England Residents base in Rockingham, the team was given a couple more memories on the way to the airport when smoke billowed from the wheels of the coach and everyone was forced to get on a replacement with flashing neon interior lighting.
Connor Parkinson (Wigan St Judes), who was voted Players Player of the trip said, “With it being my first tour with the Lions squad I wasn’t really too sure what to expect, but it turned out better than I ever imagined. I didn’t really know most of the lads when the squad was first named, but the way everyone gelled during that few weeks you’d have thought we had played as a team for years.
“I don’t think it’s properly sunk in yet – beating WA in those test matches – creating history. Those two victories are special moments we’ll remember for life and I couldn’t have wished for a better squad to do it with along with the staff who need just as much credit for the part they played.”
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 503 (December 2024)
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