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1975 Rugby League World Cup

The 1975 Rugby League World Cup (officially known as the 1975 Rugby League World Championship[1]) was the seventh World Cup for men’s rugby league national teams and ran from 2 March to 12 November. Australia were the winners for a fourth time after topping the group table[2].

1975 (1975) World Cup  ()
Number of teams5
Winner Australia (4th title)
Matches played21
Attendance204,476 (9,737 per match)
Points scored661 (31.48 per match)
Top scorerAustralia Mick Cronin (76)
Top try scorersEngland Keith Fielding (7)
Australia Ian Schubert (7)
Tournaments
 < 1972
1977 > 

Unlike previous World Cups, there was no one host country, with the five participating nations hosting matches over eight months. Each team had to play the others on a 'home and away' basis. For the first time Great Britain didn’t compete and instead England and Wales entered to participate for the first time, taking advantage of a glut of Welsh talent in the British game at the time.

Teams

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Main article: 1975 Rugby League World Cup squads

Venues

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14 venues across the five competing countries hosted games of the 1975 Rugby League World Cup. Wales used their own home venue at Swansea, but also played home games in England in both Salford and Warrington. England also played a 'home' game against Wales at Lang Park in Brisbane, Australia.

  Sydney   Marseille   Brisbane   Bradford   Wigan
Sydney Cricket Ground Stade Vélodrome Lang Park Odsal Stadium Central Park
Capacity: 70,000 Capacity: 49,000 Capacity: 40,000 Capacity: 40,000 Capacity: 40,000
         
  Toulouse   Bordeaux   Leeds   Auckland   Salford
Stadium Municipal Stade du Parc Lescure Headingley Carlaw Park The Willows
Capacity: 35,000 Capacity: 30,000 Capacity: 30,000 Capacity: 20,000 Capacity: 17,000
         
  Swansea   Christchurch   Warrington   Perpignan
St Helen's Rugby Ground Addington Showgrounds Wilderspool Stadium Stade Gilbert Brutus
Capacity: 15,000 Capacity: 15,000 Capacity: 15,000 Capacity: 13,000
       

Results

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2 March
France  14 – 7  Wales
Stade Municipal, Toulouse
Attendance: 7,563
Referee: Fred Lindop  
16 March
England  20 – 2  France
Headingley, Leeds
Attendance: 10,842
Referee: Keith Page   (Harry Hunt  )
1 June
Australia  36 – 8  New Zealand
Lang Park, Brisbane
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Francois Escande  
10 June
England  7 – 12  Wales
Lang Park, Brisbane
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: Don Lancashire  
14 June
Australia  30 – 13  Wales
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Attendance: 25,386
Referee: Francois Escande  

In this match Mick Cronin kicked nine goals.

15 June
New Zealand  27 – 0  France
Addington Showground, Christchurch
Attendance: 2,500
Referee: Laurie Bruyeres  
21 June
New Zealand  17 – 17  England
Carlaw Park, Auckland
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Laurie Bruyeres  
22 June
Australia  26 – 6  France
Lang Park, Brisbane
Attendance: 9,000
Referee: John Percival  
28 June
Australia  10 – 10  England
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Attendance: 33,858
Referee: John Percival  
28 June
New Zealand  13 – 8  Wales
Carlaw Park, Auckland
Attendance: 9,368
Referee: Laurie Bruyeres  
20 September
Wales  16 – 22  England
Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington
Attendance: 5,034
Referee: Marcel Caillol  
27 September
New Zealand  8 – 24  Australia
Carlaw Park, Auckland
Attendance: 18,000
Referee: Fred Lindop  
11 October
France  2 – 48  England
Stade du Parc Lescure, Bordeaux
Attendance: 1,581
Referee: John Percival  

England winger Keith Fielding created a new record by scoring four tries against a hapless French team at Bordeaux.

17 October
France  12 – 12  New Zealand
Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Billy Thompson  
19 October
Wales  6 – 18  Australia
St. Helen's Rugby Ground, Swansea
Attendance: 11,112
Referee: John Percival  

Kangaroo wing prodigy Ian Schubert also scored a hat-trick tries.

25 October
England  27 – 12  New Zealand
Odsal Stadium, Bradford
Attendance: 5,507
Referee: Andre Lacaze  

English stand-off Ken Gill ran in three tries.

26 October
France  2 – 41  Australia
Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan
Attendance: 10,440
Referee: Billy Thompson  
1 November
England  16 – 13  Australia
Central Park, Wigan
Attendance: 9,353
Referee: John Percival  
2 November
Wales  25 – 24  New Zealand
St. Helen's Rugby Ground, Swansea
Attendance: 2,645
Referee: Georges Jameau  

In this match Jim Mills, the Wales prop, was banned for the rest of the season after an altercation. The ban was eventually lifted on 2 January 1976.

6 November
Wales  23 – 2  France
The Willows, Salford
Attendance: 2,247
Referee: Fred Lindop  

Final standings

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Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
  Australia 8 6 1 1 198 69 +129 13
  England 8 5 2 1 167 84 +83 12
  Wales 8 3 0 5 110 130 −20 6
  New Zealand 8 2 2 4 121 149 −28 6
  France 8 1 1 6 40 204 −164 3
Source: [citation needed]

Final challenge match

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As Australia had not beaten England to win the World Cup (a draw and a loss), a one off challenge match was arranged, although this was not officially classed as a Final as Australia had already been crowned Champions after topping the group.

The Kangaroos showed they were worthy World Champions with a comprehensive 25–0 win at Headingley in front of a disappointing crowd of 7,680 which was over 11,000 less than had attended the 1970 World Cup final, between Great Britain and Australia, at the same venue. England had shown little interest in playing the game.

12 November
England  0 – 25  Australia
Headingley, Leeds
Attendance: 7,680
Referee: Fred Lindop  

Try scorers

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7
5
4
3
2
1

References

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  1. ^ Clarkson, Alan (10 June 1974). "Fulton battles injury". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australia. Archived from the original on 30 July 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
  2. ^ Paddy McAteer (22 December 2010) "Whole World in their Hands" Archived 5 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine North West Evening Mail
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