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It is a little over 60 years now since England embarked on their first Antipodean adventure, a squad led by Mike Weston following previous French, Scottish and Irish tours to make a belated arrival in the Southern Hemisphere in 1963. A gruelling schedule had been organised by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) in New Zealand and Australia. England returned after little more than a fortnight battered, bruised and beaten in five of their six matches.