1975/76 New Zealand V England
By Tracy Holmes

The 'Lions' had toured Australia and had enjoyed mauling the Kangaroos, winning the series 6-1! And remember, these were the likes of Phil Crump, Billy Sanders, Phil Herne, John Langfield, John Titman, Ricky Day ... on their home turf. [ John Boulger dnr ] If the Ockers were the main course, the Kiwis would be desert!

No disrespect aimed at the New Zealand team, it's just that England were by far superior in strength and mechanically. No nonsense Kiwi Captain, Graeme Stapleton made sure the locals held their heads high as they went in battle and with team manager, Tommy Sweetman, they could not have been in safer hands.

The first Test was at Western Springs, Auckland on January 24. Here is how Speedway Star reported the action;

'England massacred New Zealand in the first Test of the three match series in Auckland on Saturday. In all but four races England scored 5-1 heat wins with Peter Collins scoring a maximum and his partner Dave Morton collecting six bonus points. The mainly Auckland based side were outclassed but second places in heats 8, 9 & 10 saved the Kiwis from complete ignominy and a last heat engine failure from Doug Wyer gave them another couple of unexpected points.'

Heat 1 Davis, Pusey, Fullerton, Stapleton
Heat 2 Wyer, C Morton, Ross, Tucker
Heat 3 Collins, D Morton, Farquharson, Goodall
Heat 4 C Morton, Kennett, Stapleton, Fullerton. Wyer ns
Heat 5 Collins, D Morton, Tucker, Church. Ross ns
Heat 6 Davis, Pusey, Goodall, Farquharson.
Heat 7 Collins, D Morton, Stapleton, Fullerton
Heat 8 Davis, Ross, Pusey, Tucker
Heat 9 Wyer, Farquharson, C Morton, Goodall.
Heat 10 Pusey, Fullerton, Davis, Stapleton.
Heat 11 Wyer, C Morton, Ross, Tucker.
Heat 12 Collins, D Morton, Farquharson, Goodall.
Heat 13. C Morton, Wyer, Stapleton, Church. Fullerton ns.
Heat 14 Collins, D Morton, Ross, Tucker.
Heat 15. Davis, Pusey, Farquharson, Goodall
Heat 16 Collins, D Morton, Stapleton, Fullerton
Heat 17 Davis, Pusey, Tucker, Ross
Heat 18 C Morton, Farquharson, Goodall. Wyer ef

England 85
Peter Collins 3 3 3 3 3 3 [18]
John Davis 3 3 3 1 3 3 [16]
Chris Morton 2 3 1 2 3 3 [14]
Chris Pusey 2 2 1 3 2 2 [12]
Dave Morton 2 2 2 2 2 2 [12]
Doug Wyer 3 - 3 3 2 ef [11]
Res Gordon Kennett - 2 - - - - [2]

New Zealand 23
Colin Farquharson 1 0 2 1 1 2 [7]
Larry Ross 1 - 2 1 1 0 [5]
Graeme Stapleton 0 1 1 0 1 1 [4]
Mike Fullerton 1 0 0 2 - 0 [3]
Colin Tucker 0 1 0 0 0 1 [2]
John Goodall 0 1 0 0 0 1 [2]
Res Paul Church - 0 - - 0 - [0]

Yes, it was brutal and the Lions were well fed. But the Kiwis were still standing and prepared for the second Test in Stape's home town.

So to Christchurch at the Templeton Speedway on January 31.

Rod Dew filed this report for The Press;

'England outclassed New Zealand 84-24 in the second Test on Saturday night. The very talented Brits claimed first place in all 18 heats and on only five occasions did they fail to score maximum points. It was the biggest drubbing NZ has had at Templeton. As a contest between two of the world's leading speedway nations, there was little to enthuse about. Top honours for NZ went to the Captain, Graeme Stapleton. But he and his team-mates were very much at a disadvantage, mechanically. A number of the Brits were mounted on new four valve bikes and were all faster down the straights and quicker out of the corners.'

The meeting ended on a dramatic note as Dew continued;

'Peter Collins seemed to be headed for a maximum score when he crashed spectacularly in the final heat, somersaulting into the fence at the end of the pit straight. The crash was a sequel to contact between riders as they dived into the first turn. Collins' steel shoe broke free and he spent much of the next lap riding with one hand and trying to remove his shoe with the other. Then at the end of the pit straight on the second lap, he put his foot down and the bike whirled away from under him, throwing him into the fence. Max Brown laid down to avoid Collins.'

Heat 1 Davis, Pusey, Stapleton, Adlington.
Heat 2 C Morton, Wyer, M Brown, Ross.
Heat 3 Collins, D Morton, Fullerton, Farquharson.
Heat 4 Davis, Pusey, Ross, M Brown.
Heat 5 Wyer, C Morton, Farquharson, Fullerton.
Heat 6 Collins, D Morton, Stapleton, Adlington.
Heat 7 Pusey, Davis, Fullerton, Farquharson.
Heat 8 C Morton, Wyer, Stapleton, Adlington.
Heat 9 Collins, Ross, D Morton, M Brown.
Heat 10 Davis, Pusey, Stapleton, Adlington.
Heat 11 C Morton, Wyer, Ross, M Brown.
Heat 12 Collins, Farquharson, D Morton, Fullerton.
Heat 13 Davis, Pusey, M Brown, Ross.
Heat 14 C Morton, Wyer, Fullerton, Farquharson.
Heat 15 Collins, Stapleton, D Morton, Adlington.
Heat 16 Davis, Pusey, Farquharson, Fullerton.
Heat 17 C Morton, Stapleton, Wyer, Adlington.
Heat 18 D Morton, M Brown, Ross. Collins f/ex

England 84
John Davis 3 3 2 3 3 3 [17]
Chris Morton 3 2 3 3 3 3 [17]
Peter Collins 3 3 3 3 3 f/x [15]
Chris Pusey 2 2 3 2 2 2 [13]
Doug Wyer 2 3 2 2 2 1 [12]
Dave Morton 2 2 1 1 1 3 [10]
Res Gordon Kennett dnr

New Zealand 24
Graeme Stapleton 1 1 1 1 2 2 [8[
Larry Ross 0 1 2 1 0 1 [5]
Colin Farquharson 0 1 0 2 0 1 [4]
Max Brown 1 0 0 0 1 2 [4]
Mike Fullerton 1 0 1 0 1 0 [3]
Robin Adlington 0 0 0 0 0 0 [0]
Res Paul Fewings dnr

The resulting injury for PC meant his tour was over. It is a shame that Kiwi reserve Paul Fewings did not get to ride. After four ducks from Robin Adlington, just sayin! So, it was another trouncing but again, the Kiwi side could hold their heads high as they prepared for the third and final Test, back in Auckland.

Western Springs, February 9. Poor Stape was now riding with his shoulder strapped up after a MotoX injury. "Bugga!" Yes, the result spoke for itself but I do like what was reported in Speedway Star;

'The score did not really show the amount of effort that the Kiwis put into their racing and at no time did they act like a beaten team.'

Heat 1 Davis, Pusey, Stapleton, Fullerton fall.
Heat 2 Wyer, C Morton, Ross, Tucker.
Heat 3 Kennett, D Morton, Farquharson, Goodall.
Heat 4 Wyer, C Morton, Fullerton, Stapleton.
Heat 5 D Morton, Kennett, Tucker, Ross.
Heat 6 Davis, Pusey, Farquharson, Goodall.
Heat 7 Kennett, Stapleton, Fullerton. D Morton ef.
Heat 8 Davis, Pusey, Tucker, Ross.
Heat 9 Wyer, C Morton, Farquharson, Church. Goodall ns.
Heat 10 Davis, Pusey, Fullerton, Stapleton.
Heat 11 Wyer, Tucker, Ross. C Morton ef.
Heat 12 D Morton, Farquharson, Kennett, Goodall.
Heat 13 C Morton, Wyer, Stapleton, Fullerton.
Heat 14 Kennett, D Morton, Tucker, Ross.
Heat 15 Davis, Pusey, Farquharson, Church. Goodall ns.
Heat 16 D Morton, Stapleton, Kennett, Fullerton.
Heat 17 Davis, Pusey, Tucker, Ross.
Heat 18 Wyer, Farquharson, C Morton, Goodall.

England 83
John Davis 3 3 3 3 3 3 [18]
Doug Wyer 3 3 3 3 2 3 [17]
Gordon Kennett 3 2 3 1 3 1 [13]
Dave Morton 2 3 ef 3 2 3 [13]
Chris Pusey 2 2 2 2 2 2 [12]
Chris Morton 2 2 2 ef 3 1 [10]
Peter Collins inj dnr

New Zealand 25
Colin Farquharson 1 1 1 2 1 2 [8]
Graeme Stapleton 1 0 2 0 1 2 [6]
Colin Tucker 0 1 1 2 1 1 [6]
Mike Fullerton f 1 1 1 0 0 [3]
Larry Ross 1 0 0 1 0 0 [2]
John Goodall 0 0 - 0 - 0 [0]
Res Paul Church - - 0 - 0 - [0]

And so the contest was over. England 3 New Zealand 0. Yes, the Lions were certainly in a class of their own and could chew on the Kiwi bones all the way home. But let's remember how the Kiwis fought until the end of each and every race, to the best of their ability, to do their country proud. That earns respect. WELL DONE LADS!!!

Hang on, hang on, I've got a question here.
What?
Where was Ivan Mauger?
In Australia.
Doing what?
Riding Speedway, what do you think he was doing?
More important Speedway than a Test series in New Zealand?
Apparently.
Oh, ok. Thank you.

"Alreet Vicar, calm doon man, calm doon!"

This article was first published on 28th January 2024

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