1952–53 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France

The 1952–53 Kangaroo tour was the eighth Kangaroo tour, in which the Australian national rugby league team travelled to Great Britain and France and played forty matches, including the Ashes series of three Test matches against Great Britain and three Test matches against the French. It followed the tour of 1948-49 and the next was staged in 1956-57.

The squad's leadership
The team was captained by Clive Churchill with Frank Stanmore as vice-captain. Tour co-managers were Doug MacLean and Norm Robinson. In the matches in which neither Churchill nor Stanmore played, the Kangaroos were captained by Duncan Hall on 4 occasions (Wigan, Swinton, Dewsbury, and Selection de Midi) and Albert Paul on 3 occasions (French Selection, French Selection, Paris-Lyon). Three players captained the team in one match: Keith Holman (Doncaster), Ferris Ashton (Wakefield Trinity) and Noel Hazzard (French Selection).

Touring squad
The Rugby League News published a photo and details of the touring team including the players' ages, weights, heights, and occupations. Match details - listing surnames of both teams and the point scorers - were included in E.E. Christensen's Official Rugby League Yearbook, as was a summary of the players' point-scoring.

Crocker, Davies, Flannery, Hall, Hazzard, McCaffery, McGovern, and Rooney were selected from Queensland clubs. Carlson, Duncan, Gill, Paul, and Wells were selected from clubs in New South Wales Country areas. The balance of the squad had played for Sydney-based clubs during the 1952 season.

Match Results
The touring party departed the eastern states before the conclusion of the Sydney, Brisbane and various regional competitions. On July 27, 1952, they played a match against Western Australia in Perth, winning 88—3. Travelling aboard the RMS Strathnaver, the team arrived in England on August 24, 1952. Australia played 27 matches in England before moving in mid-December to France for a further 13 matches.

3rd Test
The tourists returned from France to London to meet the RMS Mooltan, departing England on the evening of February 2, 1953. The ship arrived in Fremantle on March 6 and to Sydney on March 17. The players were welcomed home by local League authorities.

A team selected from the touring Kangaroos played a match against The Rest of Australia on April 15, 1953. The Kangaroos won 33-21.