The first rugby league international played at Wembley for 17 years marked a major breakthrough for the sport, as Ellery Hanley inspired a stirring First Test win in front of a 54,569 crowd. A couple of weeks later, Malcolm Reilly's team went agonisingly close to sealing the series at Old Trafford, only to be beaten by a late Mal Meninga try, and then again in the decider at Elland Road Photograph: Bob Martin/Getty Images
A stand-alone World Cup final after a three-year qualifying tournament was a tight, taut match which Britain led through three Deryck Fox penalties until Australia's centre Steve Renouf slipped out of a John Devereux tackle to score the decisive try. The attendance of 73,631 remains a record for a rugby league international in this country Photograph: Sean Dempsey/PA Archive
Hanley had been appointed coach by the time the First Test of the next home Ashes series was also taken south, and attracted a slightly bigger crowd of 57,034. Britain's chances seemed to disappear when Shaun Edwards was sent off for felling Australia's loose forward Bradley Clyde in the 25th minute. But then Jonathan Davies scored a brilliant try in the corner, and a magnificent 12-man defensive performance did the rest Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
The opening game of the World Cup to mark the centenary of the Northern Union breakaway saw another memorable home win in front of a 41,271 crowd which set the scene for a highly successful tournament. Australia were weakened by a split which meant that players who had signed with Rupert Murdoch's rebel Super League competition were not selected, but it was still quite an achievement to beat a team including stars like Brad Fittler and Andrew Johns. Jason Robinson, pictured, and a young Andy Farrell were among the try-scorers Photograph: Adam Butler/PA Archive
Exactly three weeks after England had won the opening game of the World Cup at Wembley, the teams returned, although in Australia's case only after beating New Zealand in a semi-final that went into extra time. They were never in as much trouble in the rematch against Phil Larder's team which attracted a 66,540 attendance, and a young Andrew Johns was named man of the match Photograph: Anton Want/Getty Images
The last rugby league international played at Wembley came when the Australian game was still split in two by the Super League crisis, and this time 41,135 fans came to Wembley as Great Britain faced a team drawn from the rebel competition as a result of the £87m deal that had been signed two years earlier with BSkyB. They were much too good for a Britain team in which the current coach Steve McNamara was a substitute, with Darren Lockyer making his first international appearance in this country at full-back, and Laurie Daley, pictured, leading the team brilliantly from stand-off Photograph: Brandon Malone /Action Images
