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Message: [QUOTE="Big Pete, post: 2720399, member: 1899"] ASHES SERIES THIRD TEST GREAT BRITAIN 26; AUSTRALIA 12 at Sydney Football Stadium English supporters had waited 3,534 days for victory over Australia. That was how long it was between their Second Test defeat of the Aussies at Bradford in 1978 and their stunning Third Test win at the Sydney Football Stadium. It was a day of history for the Englishmen and the large contingent of British supporters in the crowd of almost 16,000 who savoured their country’s 26-12 victory win almost hysterically. After the troubles of the tour, the injuries and the embarrassing losses , the British were superior to Australia in every department. They led 10-0 at halftime and defied a challenge by the Aussies to storm away with the Test and two World Cup points. It was their first Test victory on Australian soil since 1974 and broke a record-breaking run of 15 consecutive Test wins by the Green and Golds. The tourists’ kicking game, a disappointment in the first Test and an abject failure in the second, was absolutely superb. They kicked deep and often, away from the mercurial Garry Jack, and chased with a new found vigour. Written off by almost everyone before the Test, they continued to approach the match with confidence and refused to buckle under pressure. Only two minutes after halftime, Wally Lewis, so often the nemesis of the English, scored for Australia and it looked as though the red, white and blue dream was again destined to remain unfulfilled. But it was different this time around. Peter Sterling didn’t return after halftime, throwing the Australian team into disarray. Tony Currie was cast into the unfamiliar role of halfback, and replacement Gary Belcher onto the wing. With no Sterling, cheeky English half Andy Gregory had a field day, finding space to move, setting up supports and engineering raid after raid on the Australians. He finished Man of the Match after figuring in four of Great Britain’s five tries. Up front Oldham prop Hugh Waddell was magnificent. He took on the Australian forwards for the full 80 minutes, upstaging the more highly rated Kevin Ward as the pick of the props. And in the backrow Mike Gregory and Roy Powell toiled hard all game. Mike Gregory typified the spirit in the English team by sprinting 50 metres to score a try with a painful groin injury. Unquestionably Great Britain’s win was against all odds. Nine of the originally selected tour party were 20,000km away back in England. The team was written off by almost everyone. And they were playing a team as accustomed to winning Test matches as they, the British, were losing to them. GREAT BRITAIN 26 (Gill 2, Offiah, Ford, M. Gregory tries; Loughlin 3 goals) defeated AUSTRALIA 12 (Lewis, Backo tries; O’Connor 2 goals) Australia Garry Jack, Andrew Ettingshausen, Michael O’Connor, Peter Jackson, Tony Currie Wally Lewis ©, Peter Sterling Martin Bella, Greg Conescu, Sam Backo, Wally Fullerton-Smith, Paul Vautin, Wayne Pearce Reserves: Bob Lindner, Gary Belcher Great Britain Phil Ford, Henderson Gill, Paul Loughlin, David Stephenson, Martin Offiah David Hulme, Andy Gregory Kevin Ward, Paul Hulme, Hugh Waddell, Ray Powell, Mike Gregory, Ellery Hanley © Reserves: Brian Case [/QUOTE]

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