Resolutely Indomitable

One of my favourite sporting photos is one of Gus Risman leading out Great Britain in the first test of the 1946 Ashes series in Australia. In front of over 60,000 spectators, the look on Risman’s face, the stare, is so determined. This was no faux snarl, the kind which sells today. It was the look of a leader who only the year previous was doing his bit in World War Two as a British Army captain.

A fair amount has been wrote about ‘The Indomitables’ – the touring party so named because they travelled by sea on the HMS Indomitable – including this excellent article by Matt Newson on the BBC. On what is fast approaching the 80th anniversary of the tour, the relatives of those travellers are organising a dinner to mark the occasion. Simon Foster wrote a piece for the League Express last week plugging the dinner. He also included the following anecdote with the series at 1–0 to the Lions after two tests:

Just before the final test in Sydney, the captain Gus Risman was approached by a gambler after the Welsh players had performed in their choir at a community concert. Risman was offered the equivalent of £500 in cash to throw the match. Some Australians were that desperate not to lose the series.1

I’m unsure about whether Simon means £500 in today’s money (probably not worth it) or the Australian dollar equivalent back then. The latter, after a quick check on the Bank of England’s inflation calculator, would be worth over £18,000 today. The bribe mustn’t have been accepted as Great Britain won the third test handsomely.

League Express, 20 April 2026, p. 31