1972 Rugby League World Cup
| 1972 World Cup | |
|---|---|
| Number of teams | 4 |
| Host country |  France |
| Winner |  Great Britain (3rd title) |
| Matches played | 7 |
| Attendance | 62,456 (8,922 per match) |
| Points scored | 240 (34.29 per match) |
| Top scorer | John Holmes (26) |
| Top try scorer |  Bob Fulton (5) |
< 1970 1975 > | |
The sixth Rugby League World Cup was held in France in October and November 1972. Australia started as the favourites to retain the trophy they had won just two years previously. New Zealand had beaten all three of the other nations in 1971 and France were expected to be tough opponents on their home soil. In the event Great Britain confounded most expectations by running out worthy winners and levelling their tally of World Cup wins at 3–3 with the Australians.
The final was held at Stade Gerland in Lyon. Great Britain played Australia and in the end, with scores level and unchanged after extra time, claimed the cup on league placing.
This was the last World Cup to be played under the four-tackle rule.
Squads
Venues
The games were played at various venues in France.
| Marseille | Paris | Toulouse |
|---|---|---|
| Stade Vélodrome | Parc des Princes | Stadium Municipal |
| Capacity: 55,000 | Capacity: 48,712 | Capacity: 37,000 |
|
|
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| Perpignan | Pau | Grenoble |
| Stade Gilbert Brutus | Stade du Hameau | Stade Lesdiguières |
| Capacity: 13,000 | Capacity: 12,000 | Capacity: 12,000 |
|
|
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Final Venue
| Lyon |
|---|
| Stade de Gerland |
| Capacity: 45,000 |
|
Results
France kicked off the tournament by sharing six tries with the Kiwis but a massive penalty count in their favour allowed the French to dictate play, their five goals and a drop goal to none by the Kiwis proving decisive.
At Perpignan a monumental struggle finally went Britain's way 27–21 against the Kangaroos, for whom Bobby Fulton grabbed three tries in a lost cause.
Britain overcame France 13–4 to qualify for the final with outstanding second-rower Phil Lowe scoring two tries.
New Zealand gave Australia a hard time, the first half being scoreless, before going down 5–9.
Britain hammered New Zealand 53–19, a World Cup record score, with young stand-off half John Holmes collecting 26 points (10 goals, 2 tries) – another World Cup record.
Australia had to beat France at Toulouse to reach the final in the last game of the preliminaries, a task which proved well within their capabilities.
Final standings
| Team | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | For | Against | Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Britain |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 93 | 44 | +49 | 6 |
| Australia |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 61 | 41 | +20 | 4 |
| France |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 33 | 53 | −20 | 2 |
 New Zealand |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 33 | 82 | −49 | 0 |
Final
11 November 1972
|
| Great Britain
|
10 – 10 (AET) |
Australia
|
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Clive Sullivan Mike Stephenson Goals: Terry Clawson (2) |
[1] |
Tries: John O'Neill Arthur Beetson Goals: Ray Branighan (2) |
      Great Britain
|
     Australia
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The French public seemed uninterested in a final that did not involve the home team, as just over 4,200 spectators turned up. The game will always be remembered by the British for their captain Clive Sullivan's wonderful long distance try[2][3] and by the Australians for perhaps "the greatest try never scored",[4] later shown on TV to be legitimately scored by Australian fullback Graeme Langlands but disallowed by French referee Georges Jameau.[5] Mike Stephenson scored the 73rd-minute try that helped Great Britain level the scores and secure the World Cup.[6] Had Aussie winger Ray Branighan succeeded with a 79th-minute penalty or Bob Fulton landed one of three drop goal attempts in the last five minutes, the cup could easily have gone to Australia. But for the first time in the competition's history the scores were level at full-time. An additional twenty minutes extra time was played, but no further score resulted, and Great Britain were awarded the cup by virtue of a better position in the table.
Group stage
The 1972 Rugby League World Cup group stage was the main component of the 1972 Rugby League World Cup, with the top two nations qualifying for the World Cup Final. The group consisted of hosts France as well as Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand.
Ladder
| Team | Played | Won | Drew | Lost | For | Against | Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Britain |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 93 | 44 | +49 | 6 |
| Australia |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 61 | 41 | +20 | 4 |
| France |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 33 | 53 | −20 | 2 |
| New Zealand |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 33 | 82 | −49 | 0 |
France vs New Zealand
Saturday 28 October
|
| France
|
20 – 9 | New Zealand
|
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Jean-Marie Bonal (2) Andre Ruiz Goals: Bernard Guilhelm (4) Jean-Marie Bonal (1) Field Goals: Marius Frattini (1) |
[7] |
Tries: Phillip Orchard (2) Mocky Brereton Goals: |
    France
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    New Zealand
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France kicked off the tournament by sharing six tries with the Kiwis but a massive penalty count in their favour allowed the French to dictate play, their five goals and a drop goal to none by the Kiwis proving decisive.
Great Britain vs Australia
Sunday 29 October
|
| Great Britain
|
27 – 21 | Australia
|
|---|---|---|
| Tries: John Atkinson Phil Lowe Dennis O'Neill Mike Stephenson Clive Sullivan Goals: Terry Clawson (6/6) |
[8] |
Tries: Bob Fulton (3) Tommy Raudonikis Goals: Graeme Langlands (4) Field Goals: Bob McCarthy (1) |
 Great Britain
|
 Australia
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At Perpignan a monumental struggle finally went Britain's way 27–21 against the Kangaroos, for whom Bob Fulton grabbed three tries in a lost cause.
France vs Great Britain
Wednesday 1 November
|
| France
|
4 – 13 | Great Britain
|
|---|---|---|
| Try: Goals: Jean-Marie Bonal (1) Victor Serrano (1) |
[9] |
Try: Phil Lowe (2) Clive Sullivan Goals: |
France
|
Great Britain
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Great Britain overcame France 13–4 to qualify for the final with outstanding second-rower Phil Lowe scoring two tries.
Australia vs New Zealand
Wednesday 1 November
|
| Australia
|
9 – 5 | New Zealand
|
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Bob Fulton Dennis Ward Goals: Ray Branighan (1) Field Goals: Bob Fulton (1) |
[10] |
Tries: John Whittaker Goals: John Wilson (1) |
Australia
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New Zealand
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New Zealand gave Australia a hard time, the first half being scoreless, before going down 9–5.
Great Britain vs New Zealand
Saturday 4 November
|
| Great Britain
|
53 – 19 | New Zealand
|
|---|---|---|
| Tries: John Atkinson (2) John Holmes (2) Paul Charlton Chris Hesketh David Jeanes Steve Nash George Nicholls Mike Stephenson Clive Sullivan Goals: John Holmes (10) |
[11] |
Tries: Bill Burgoyne Tony Coll Murray Eade John Whittaker Dennis Williams Goals: John Wilson (2) |
Great Britain
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New Zealand
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Great Britain hammered New Zealand 53–19, a World Cup record score, with young stand-off John Holmes collecting 26 points (10 goals, 2 tries) – another World Cup record.
France vs Australia
Sunday 5 November
|
| France
|
9 – 31 | Australia
|
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Andre Ruiz Goals: Jean-Marie Bonal (3) |
[12] |
Tries: Mark Harris (2) Paul Sait (2) Bob Fulton John O'Neill Elwyn Walters Goals: Ray Branighan (5) |
France
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Australia
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Australia had to beat France at Toulouse to reach the final in the last game of the preliminaries, a task which proved well within their capabilities.
References
- ^ Report
- ^ Wright, J (23 August 2007). "Rugby League's Greatest Ever Full-back". Times & Star. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Paddy McAteer (22 December 2010) "Whole World in their Hands" Archived 5 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine North West Evening Mail
- ^ Kdouh, Fatima (28 November 2013). "We take a look back at the greatest Rugby League World Cup finals of all time". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
- ^ Chesterton, Ray (24 October 2008). "Langlands denied greatest try ever". The Daily Telegraph. Australia: News Limited. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Hughes, Ed (31 October 2004). "Caught in Time: Great Britain prepare for 1972 rugby league World Cup final". The Sunday Times. UK: Times Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ France vs New Zealand
- ^ Great Britain vs Australia
- ^ France vs Great Britain
- ^ Australia vs New Zealand
- ^ Great Britain vs New Zealand
- ^ France vs Australia