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 World Cup | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Number of teams | 5 |
| Winner |  Australia (4th title) |
| Matches played | 21 |
| Attendance | 204,476 (9,737 per match) |
| Points scored | 661 (31.48 per match) |
| Top scorer | Mick Cronin (76) |
| Top try scorers |  Keith Fielding (7) Ian Schubert (7) |
< 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
Venues
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 |
.jpg) |  |  |  |  |
| 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 |
 |  | _001.JPG) |  |  |
 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 | |
 |  | .jpg) |  |
Results
| 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 |
| 28 June |
| Australia | 10 – 10 | England |
| Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney Attendance: 33,858 Referee: John Percival |
| 20 September |
| Wales | 16 – 22 | England |
| Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington Attendance: 5,034 Referee: Marcel Caillol |
| 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.
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 |
| 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.
Final standings
| 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 |
Final challenge match
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.
Try scorers
- 7
- 5
- 4
- 3
- 2
- 1
Ray Branighan- Graham Eadie
- Tim Pickup
- John Quayle
- Johnny Rhodes
John Atkinson- Colin Forsyth
- Jeff Grayshon
- Brian Hogan
- Thomas Martyn
- Roger Millward
- Mick Morgan
- Steve Norton
- Stuart Wright
Bernard Curt- René Terrats
Tony Coll- Tom Conroy
- Murray Eade
- John Greengrass
- Lyndsay Proctor
- John Smith
- John Whittaker
Kel Coslett- Tony Fisher
- Brian Gregory
- John Mantle
- Jim Mills
- Clive Sullivan
- David Treasure
- Frank Wilson