1975 Rugby League World Cup
The 1975 Rugby League World Championship (also referred to as the World Series[1]) was the seventh tournament for the Rugby League World Cup. The format differed from that employed in previous competitions; no single country hosted the matches, which were spread out in a 'world series' hosted by each of the five participating nations over a period of just over eight months. Each team had to play the others on a 'home and away' basis. Great Britain were split up into separate England and Wales teams, taking advantage of a glut of Welsh talent in the British game at the time.
| 1975 World Cup | |
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| Number of teams | 5 |
| Winner | .svg.png){kind=small} |
| Matches played | 21 |
| Attendance | 204,476 (9,737 per match) |
| Points scored | 661 (31.48 per match) |
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| Top try scorers |  |
No final was held, with Australia being deemed the champions by virtue of finishing on top of the table[2] with England coming in second.[3]
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.
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| St Helen's Rugby Ground | Addington Showgrounds | Wilderspool Stadium | Stade Gilbert Brutus | |
| Capacity: 15,000 | Capacity: 15,000 | Capacity: 15,000 | Capacity: 13,000 | |
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Results
In this match Mick Cronin kicked nine goals.
England winger Keith Fielding created a new record by scoring four tries against a hapless French team at Bordeaux.
Kangaroo wing prodigy Ian Schubert also scored a hat-trick tries.
English stand-off Ken Gill ran in three tries.
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 | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | For | Against | Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 198 | 69 | +129 | 13 |
| 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 167 | 84 | +83 | 12 |
| 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 110 | 130 | −20 | 6 |
| 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 121 | 149 | −28 | 6 |
| 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 40 | 204 | −164 | 3 |
Final challenge match
As Australia had not beaten England to win the cup, a final challenge was hastily arranged. 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.
Try scorers
- 7
- 5
- 4
- 3
- 2
- 1
References
- 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.
- Paddy McAteer (22 December 2010) "Whole World in their Hands" Archived 5 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine North West Evening Mail
- "World Cup 1975" at 188-rugby-league.co.uk Archived 7 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine