1977 Rugby League World Cup

1977 (1977) World Cup  ()
Number of teams 4
Host countries  Australia
 New Zealand
Winner  Australia (5th title)

Matches played 7
Attendance 109,688 (15,670 per match)
Points scored 235 (33.57 per match)
Top scorer George Fairbairn (34)
Top try scorers Allan McMahon (4)
Graham Eadie (4)
 < 1975

The eighth Rugby League World Cup was held in 1977, and saw a return to the format used on previous occasions. The tournament was held in Australasia, with games in both Australia and New Zealand. That the final would be between Great Britain and Australia soon became obvious, with France and New Zealand both performing poorly.

Contents

Squads

Australia

France

Great Britain

Team manager: Reg Parker.[1]

New Zealand

Results

1977-05-29
New Zealand  12–27  Australia Carlaw Park, Auckland
Attendance: 18,000

1977-06-05
France  4–23  Great Britain Carlaw Park, Auckland
Attendance: 10,000

1977-06-11
Australia  21–9  France Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Attendance: 13,231

1977-06-12
New Zealand  12–30  Great Britain Addington Showground, Christchurch
Attendance: 9,000

1977-06-18
Australia  19–5  Great Britain Lang Park, Brisbane
Attendance: 27,000

1977-06-19
New Zealand  28–20  France Carlaw Park, Auckland
Attendance: 8,000

Final standings

Team Played Won Drew Lost  For  Against Difference Points
 Australia 3 3 0 0 67 26 +41 6
 Great Britain 3 2 0 1 58 35 +23 4
 New Zealand 3 1 0 2 52 77 −25 2
 France 3 0 0 3 33 72 −39 0

Final

Sat. 25 June, 1977
Australia  13–12  Great Britain Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Attendance: 24,457
Referee: W. Thompson (Great Britain)

Great Britain were the underdogs going to the final, which was held at the Sydney Cricket Ground. They managed to dominate the possession, and it took a last minute try from Australia’s John Kolc to secure the Cup in front of 24,457 spectators.

Australia: Graham Eadie; Allan McMahon (1 try), Mick Cronin (2 goals), Russel Gartner (1 try), Mark Harris, John Peard, John Kolc (1 try), Greg Pierce, Ray Higgs, Arthur Beetson (c), Terry Randall, Nick Geiger, Greg Veivers; Denis Fitzgerald.

Great Britain: George Fairbairn (3 goals); Stuart Wright, John Holmes, Les Dyl, Bill Francis; Roger Millward (c), Steve Nash; Philip "Phil" Hogan, Edward "Eddie" Bowman, George Nicholls, Steve Pitchford (1 try), Keith Elwell, Jimmy Thompson; Ken Gill (1 try), Len Casey.

References

  1. ^ Paddy McAteer (22 December 2010) "Whole World in their Hands" North West Evening Mail

External links