FIFTY years ago today, as Radio 1 and Radio 2 celebrated their first airings, Warrington entertained Australia at Wilderspool Stadium.

The opening fixture of the Kangaroos' 1967 tour was played in front of a crowd of 11,642, with most of it shown live on BBC1.

The tourists paid the complement of fielding a near Test team.

Warrington Guardian:

When both Australian hookers were out due to inoculation soreness, Noel Kelly took over the role.

Warrington’s hopes of having a full strength team were dashed when scrum half maestro Parry Gordon, and second row forward Ken Parr failed late fitness tests.

A comfortable victory 16-7 for Australia ensued, with some of the ‘Wire’ players maybe having one eye on the Lancashire Cup Final with St Helens due the following weekend.

The only reason the scoreline was not more emphatic was Australia losing the scrums 12-25.

Noel Kelly (who had been sent off in a previous Warrington-Australia fixture) was in the wars again.

Injured in only the fourth minute, he carried on for a further 30 minutes, before being substituted. It later transpired that he had broken his nose!

Warrington Guardian:

Tony Smith, Wolves' 2017 departing coach, was born in that year, but it was another Aussie Smith, scrum half Billy Smith, who stole the limelight then.

His hard work, allied to lightening speed, set up the two tries.

The Australians took the lead in the ninth minute.

From a scrum 20 metres out Smith and Raper flashed through to send winger Irvine flying in, and Langlands goaled.

Langlands then added a fine penalty from near halfway, with Affleck replying for Warrington.

The rest of the half belonged to Australia, who used the wind to good effect, also helping Langlands to add two further penalties.

Four minutes from half time Smith once again showed his class, flashing past four defenders as he cut to the left, before sending out a high pass that King gathered in, and raced in at the corner. Langlands narrowly missed the conversion.

The game was more or less over at half time with Australia leading 14-2.

Langlands kicked a penalty in the first minute of the second half, and it was only six minutes from time that Warrington saved some dignity when Coupe cut in from the wing, and gave Willie Aspinall a clear run to the posts for a try, Affleck adding the extras.

Sadly three of that Warrington team died this year – Ray Clark (heritage number 662, aged 72), Bill Churm (heritage number 648, aged 74) and Brian Glover (heritage number 584, aged 81) who was inducted recently into the Warrington Players’ Association ‘Hall of Fame’.

By the way, Engelbert Humperdinck’s ‘The Last Waltz’ was the number one record in the country that day.

Stan Lewandowski