Misplaced Pages

1957 Rugby League World Cup

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

2nd Rugby League World Cup tournament

1957 (1957) World Cup  ()
Number of teams4
Host country Australia
Winner Australia (1st title)
Matches played6
Attendance214,918 (35,820 per match)
Points scored204 (34 per match)
Top scorerAustralia Brian Carlson (28)
Top try scorersUnited Kingdom Mick Sullivan (3)
Australia Ian Moir (3)
Australia Kel O'Shea (3)
Tournaments  < 1954 1960 > 

The 1957 Rugby League World Cup was the second World Cup held for men’s national rugby league teams and was held between 15 and 25 June and hosted by Australia. Table toppers Australia were the winners as there was no Final at this World Cup.

1957 marked the 50th anniversary of rugby league in Australia but the hosts were not confident of their ability to lift the trophy, having capitulated in the Ashes series in England barely seven months previously. Great Britain, under Alan Prescott, and boasting world-class backs such as Billy Boston, Mick Sullivan, Jeff Stevenson and Lewis Jones, and a formidable pack, were expected to win with Jacques Merquey's French side a dark horse.

Best and fairest awards were made to individual nations, the recipients being Gilbert Benausse (France), Brian Carlson (Australia), Phil Jackson (Great Britain) and Bill Sorensen (New Zealand).

Squads

Main article: 1957 Rugby League World Cup squads

Referees

Referee Vic Belsham from New Zealand controlled three matches at the World Cup, including controlling one of New Zealand's matches. New Zealand included his brother Sel at halfback.

Venues

Sydney Brisbane
Sydney Cricket Ground The Gabba
Capacity: 70,000 Capacity: 48,000

Results

Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Result
 Australia 3 3 0 0 82 20 +62 6 World Cup Winners
 Great Britain 3 1 0 2 50 65 −15 2
 New Zealand 3 1 0 2 44 60 −16 2
 France 3 1 0 2 28 59 −31 2
Source:
15 June
Australia 25 – 5 New Zealand
The Gabba, Brisbane
Attendance: 29,636
15 June
France 5 – 23 Great Britain
Program
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Attendance: 50,077
17 June
Australia 31 – 6 Great Britain
Program
Report
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Attendance: 58,655
17 June
France 14 – 10 New Zealand
The Gabba, Brisbane
Attendance: 22,142
22 June
Australia 26 – 9 France
Program
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Attendance: 35,158
25 June
Great Britain 21 – 29 New Zealand
Program
Report
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Attendance: 14,263

Try scorers

3
2
1

References

  1. Paddy McAteer (22 December 2010) "Whole World in their Hands" Archived 5 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine North West Evening Mail
  2. Neutral refs have always been a sticky issue Sunday Star-Times, 30 November 2008
  3. "Australia In Runover World Cup Game Win". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 18 June 1957. p. 10. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  4. "Australia in Rugby Cup Win". The Age. 18 June 1957. p. 14. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
  5. "New Zealand Defeats U.K. World Cup Team". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 26 June 1957. p. 12. Retrieved 19 January 2021.

External links

Men's Rugby League World Cup
Tournaments
Qualification
Finals
Squads
Related articles
Australia squad – 1957 Rugby League World Cup Champions (1st Title)
Category: