Just prior to the start of the Australian 1927 season an invitation from the International Rugby Board arrived in Sydney requesting a New South Wales side tour Great Britain to play Tests against the Home Nations.

A squad of twenty-nine players was selected comprising twenty-eight New South Welshmen and one Queenslander in the great fly-half Tom Lawton, Snr who had been forced to come to Sydney to continue his career due to the absence of rugby in Brisbane.

The side was captained by Arthur Cooper "Johnnie" Wallace who from Sydney University had earnt a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford in 1922 and whilst there had represented Scotland in nine Tests between 1923 and 1926.

Later the Australians were flattered by a personal invitation to take tea at the Piccadilly residence of the Duke and Duchess of York where they met the infant Princess Elizabeth.

There against a selected provincial side the Waratahs suffered the most convincing defeat of the tour with the locals taking an early lead and holding on to a 19–10 victory.

Back in Paris, the tourists were entertained and shown the city's splendour before meeting the France national side at Stade Colombes in the final Test match of the tour in front of a crowd of 40,000 with 2,000 gendarmes stationed around the enclosure to keep in check the emotions of the enthusiasts.

Arriving in Vancouver in late February 1928 the squad spent twelve days and played three exhibition matches against varsity and club sides.

Scotland: Dan Drysdale, Edward Taylor, Robert Kelly, James Dykes, Bill Simmers, Harry Greenlees, Peter Douty, William Ferguson, William Roughead, James Scott, John Bannerman, David MacMyn, James Graham, Willie Welsh, John Patterson New South Wales: Alex Ross, Eric Ford, Syd King, Billy Sheehan, Johnnie Wallace, Tom Lawton, Syd Malcolm, Harry Woods, Jock Blackwood, Bruce Judd, Geoff Storey, Huck Finlay, Arnold Tancred, Jack Ford, Wylie Breckenridge