The Lions' 26-12 victory over Australia at Sydney Football Stadium, on July 9, 1988, marked a re-birth for the international game after a decade of dominance by the Kangaroos.

Before that famous afternoon, Australia had won 15 successive meetings with Great Britain, their previous defeat being at Odsal on November 5, 1978.

The 1988 Lions tour was one of the most traumatic in history.

The Great Britain squad was ravaged by injury and player pull-outs, suffered a series of embarrassing defeats in non-Test matches and was walloped by Australia in the opening two games of the Ashes series.

The Third Test was expected to be a mis-match and only 15,994 fans – then the lowest attendance for an Ashes game in Australia – bothered to turn up.

The ones who stayed away – including, so the story goes, a contingent of travelling British supporters who had got so fed up with seeing their team out-classed they went to the beach instead – missed something very special.

Coached by Malcolm Reilly, the wounded – and very under-strength – Lions produced a performance to match any in the sport's history.
Up against a strong Aussie side – with Wally Lewis and Peter Sterling at half-back – Great Britain dominated throughout.

Almost every moment of the game, from a British perspective, was memorable.

Full-back Phil Ford, then of Bradford and later to join Leeds, scored an incredible solo try, stepping through a stunned Australian defence as the tourists built a 10-0 interval lead.

Australia set British nerves jangling when they got it back to 10-6 and 16-12 after the break, before the Lions sealed a stunning 26-12 with two astonishing tries.

Paul O'Loughlin's break was finished off by Henderson Gill, who celebrated with what the TV commentators famously described as "a bit of a boogy".

Then Andy Gregory – having one of the games of his life – passed to namesake Mike near the British line and the Warrington second-row – ignoring Martin Offiah in support – dashed 70 metres to score, with the defence trailing in his wake.

That third Test victory rates alongside the 1914 Rourke's Drift game, the 1958 Battle of Brisbane – 50 years ago last Saturday – and the first Test at Wembley in 1994 – when Great Britain won 8-4 after having Shaun Edwards sent-off early on – as among the most stirring in international rugby league history. It was certainly one of the biggest shocks.

It's a sobering thought that three of the 30 players involved that day, Great Britain's Roy Powell and Mike Gregory and Australian centre Peter Jackson, are no longer with us.

Jackson – who was suffering from severe depression – died of an accidental drug overdose in 1997 and Powell passed away after a heart attack the following year.

Mike Gregory lost his long battle against illness last year.
There have been many changes to rugby league since 1988, though whether those have been for the better is very much a matter of debate.

The 15 British players on duty that July afternoon – only two substitutes in those days – were drawn from eight different clubs, compared with the five which provided players for England's one-off Test against France last month.

Prop Hugh Waddell was one of the stars of the third Test win, on what was without doubt the greatest day of his career.

It's doubtful if Oldham will ever have another Test representative, which is a measure of how much the sport has changed.

The Great Britain team itself has disappeared, following the decision to split the side into home nations following last year's Test series against New Zealand, though it could return for future tours Down Under. Full tours, including games against club sides as well as Test matches, are also a thing of the past.

The year 1988 could be seen as a pivotal one for the British game, marking the start of an era of unprecedented dominance by one club side. That spring, Wigan beat Halifax at Wembley, the first of eight successive Challenge Cup triumphs for the then Central Park outfit.

Wigan's success laid the foundations for modern day Super League, with its full-time teams and multi-million pound operations.

Their dominance – and financial problems after it ended – also led to the introduction of the salary cap, which has done so much to even-out the Super League competition and widen the code's appeal.

Great Britain have gone on to beat Australia on a semi-regular basis since 1988, but have yet to get the better of the old enemy in a game which really counts, something England harbour high hopes of doing in this year's World Cup final.

It is doubtful whether a global tournament, such as this year's, would have been possible without the Lions' victory 20 years ago.

After years of stagnation, it restored pride to the British game and proved that Test match rugby was something worth persevering with.
Truly a rugby league classic and an anniversary worth noting.

****

THERE'S an old saying about being careful what you wish for.

A few weeks ago, when engage Super League seemed to be a one-horse race, the RFL were desperate to see Leeds Rhinos brought back into the pack.

Now that's happened, there's another problem for the governing body – the very real possibility of Catalans reaching the Grand Final at Old Trafford.

In terms of debunking the "northern game" myth, rugby league couldn't get a much better boost to its image.

Catalans' success so far this season – on top of a Wembley appearance in 2007 – is a tribute to the work being done in the south of France and the vision shown by the RFL in admitting them to the competition in the first place and then granting a three-year exemption from relegation.

But logistically, a top-three finish could be a nightmare scenario. Catalans will almost certainly be involved in at least one home play-off – and potentially two inside a week if they finish first or third.

They play their final game of the regular season at Harlequins on Sunday, September 7, and could have a play-off tie just five days later.

That means a visiting English club would have less than a week to prepare for one of the toughest away fixtures in sport.

Booking flights and hotel accommodation, arranging visas for overseas players and so on is a major operation and it'll have to be done practically overnight.

It would also be a problem for Sky, who haven't televised a Catalans home game since their first fixture back in 2006.

Inside RL understands there's already some anxiety at the RFL over the prospect of Catalans actually going all the way to Old Trafford.

The French side had six weeks to prepare for last year's Carnegie Challenge Cup final and struggled to sell more than a few hundred tickets.

They could have just a week to get ready for the Grand Final, so there'd be a danger of the biggest game of the season being played out in a half-empty stadium.

The expansionists will be hoping for a Catalans v Leeds or Saints final.
The accountants will be praying for anything else.

Ends