When the inaugural Australian Schoolboys side was selected in 1972, a six-week tour of the UK sounded like a recipe for disaster.
“The whole thing was pulled together in about six months by Sam Davey, the manager from Wollongong and Roy Masters, who was still teaching in Tamworth in those days,” outside back Ian Schubert told Big League.
“Roy did a tremendous job bringing us all together because it was under 16s back then, not under 18s.
“I subsequently became a teacher and I would never have taken 30 school kids at 16 years of age away for six-weeks, I can tell you that much.
“We had two managers, Roy as coach and then 30 teenagers and somehow we all survived.”
The inaugural touring squad was picked following trials held earlier that year in 1972, but didn’t feature a team from Queensland. Chris Barugh from Balcatta High School in Perth was the only played picked from outside of New South Wales.
“We had to raise $1500 each which was pretty tough to do in those days,” Schubert recalled.
“Quite a few of us were from the country and I was lucky that the local radio station, I think it was 2KM Kempsey, helped me and another fella in David Tassell from Port Macquarie raise our funds.
“Harry Wells donated most of the money. He was still coaching up in Port Macquarie and told the club he’d only keep coaching if they put his money towards the two of us so without him, we probably wouldn’t have been able to go.”
The Australians played 12 matches over the six weeks, including three Tests against England.
“We were undefeated coming into the last game, which was the third Test, and they hadn’t scored a try against us in the 12 or so games we’d played up until that point, so there was a bounty on,” Schubert explained.
“We’d heard that they’d had a couple of ring-ins that were well and truly over 16 years of age for the last game and that the first bloke to score a try was basically going to be made Queen of Nottingham.
“So they ended up scoring the first try, which was a bit of a shock, but we went on to beat them 48-3.”
By the end of the tour, the Australians outscored their hosts 108 tries to one and 10 of the 30 went on to play first grade football.
“It was a tremendous experience as a young fella,” Schubert recalled.
“Royce Ayliffe and I still see each other quite often and I see Craig Young, Boydie (Les Boyd) and David Tassell a few times a year.
“We had a 50-year reunion a few years back which was fantastic. We’ve lost a couple along the way, and we lost another in Jack Jeffries just two weeks ago, which is a shame.
“Royce joked that we better organise another reunion quick smart because it could be our last.”
1972 Australian Schoolboys:
Royce Ayliffe (Keira High School, Wollongong), Chris Barugh (Balcatta High School, Perth), Trevor Binskin (Gosford High School), Les Boyd (Nyngan High School), Ian Bridge (Wyong High School), John Cook (Maitland Boys High School), Warwick Dean (Cowra High School), Robert Finch (Maitland Boys High School), Stephen Fishenden (Tamworth High School), Anthony Graham (Cronulla High School), Brian Hetherington (Figtree High School), Gary Hollis (Tamworth High School), Jack Jeffries (Keira High School, Wollongong), Rodney Jones (Kogarah High School), William Lott (Gundagai High School)Barrie Maher (Harry Kendall High School, Gosford), Malcolm Mercer (Gunnedah High School), David Mooney (Condell Park High School), Rod Patison (Bulli High School), Peter Priddle (Bomaderry High School), Graeme Prior (Berkeley High School), Herb Rauter (Queanbeyan High School), Keith Rugg (Dapto High School), Ian Schubert (Wauchope High School), David Tassell (Kempsey High School), Barry Taylor (Bass High School), Warwick Tidbury (Cessnock High School), Michael Turner (Condobolin High School), Geoff Williams (Condobolin High School), Craig Young (Corrimal High School).
