EX-PAT Warrington Wolves fans have been lapping up the opportunity to follow the England rugby league team Down Under - and bumped into a man who played scrum half for Australia the night they lost at Wilderspool Stadium in 1978.

Kenny Richards hails from Latchford but now lives on the Gold Coast and was left gobsmacked when he met Tommy Raudonikis ahead of England's game against Samoa at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane last weekend.

Raudonikis had a stellar career of more than 200 first-grade games for Western Suburbs and appeared in more than 50 representative games for Australia and New South Wales.

But even the tough number seven and his Warrington-born half-back partner Bobby Fulton in an all-conquering Kangaroos touring squad could do nothing to prevent defeat to Warrington's warriors in an incredible night on October 11, 1978.

One of the most famous matches in Wolves' history was won 15-12 in front of a packed house, with a disputed Alan Gwilliam try being the deciding factor.