Follow Gary Belcher on the 1990 Kangaroo Tour

BY JAMES SMITH

There are a lot of great rugby league books from the 1980s and 1990s which are often discussed in the various corners of social media chat and in nerdy rugby league circles – Arko’s and Junior Pearce’s books quickly come to mind.

So it’s about time we paid homage to one of the less-talked about but still great works of league literature from that same era – Gary Belcher’s “Kangaroo Confidential – The Inside story of a sensational Tour”.

The sensational tour he refers to is the Roo Tour of 1990. If you’ve ever wanted to be a fly on the wall during one of these glorious sojourns from back in the day, this book will answer all your questions.

Gary Belcher's magnificent book from 1990. 

Badge takes the reader along for the wild ride which was the 1990 Kangaroo Tour, introducing us to his team-mates and allowing us to get to know them along the way.

There are several narratives Badge follows throughout this day by day account, which makes for a fresh change from merely hearing about how one team-mate did this, or how another was late for that …

It’s a tough life on tour – blokes get bored, injured, homesick, in trouble, all in the name of representing their country.

As a fan of rugby league match memorabilia, this one delivers the goods. Whether Belcher himself collected them on his travels or the publishers or whoever chased them up afterwards, this book represents the finest collection of promotional posters, adverts and match tickets you are ever likely to see.

Just some of the fantastic memories captured of the 1990 Roo Tour in "Kangaroo Confidential". 

Perhaps the best aspect of this book are the countless images and passages which describe the passion of Britain’s rugby league fans back in the day. They loved the Kangaroo Tours, loved meeting the players and would have been devastated at the closure of this great tradition when it wound up just a few short years after this book was published. 

Another great part is when he pictured talking into a tape recorder at a desk in a hotel room, the resulting recordings making up the words to his very book. A nice touch. 

"Kangaroo Confidential" - available at your local second hand book dealer (maybe) or garage sale.

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