The 1975 Rugby League World Championship (also referred to as the World Series) was the seventh tournament for the

Rugby League World Cup The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament contested by the top national men's representative teams. The tournament is administered by the International Rugby League and was first held in France in 1954, which was ...

. 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. No final was held, with

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

being deemed the champions by virtue of finishing on top of the table with England coming in second."World Cup 1975" at ''188-rugby-league.co.uk''

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 Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

, 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.

Results

In this match

Mick Cronin Michael or Mick Cronin may refer to: Sports *Mick Cronin (hurler) (1902–1982), Irish hurler *Mick Cronin (footballer) (1911–1979), Australian rules football player, umpire and television commentator * Mick Cronin (rugby league) (born 1951), Aus ...

kicked nine goals. England winger

Keith Fielding Keith John Fielding (born 8 July 1949) is an English dual-code international rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s as a winger. He played representative level rugby union for England ...

created a new record by scoring four tries against a hapless French team at Bordeaux. Kangaroo wing prodigy

Ian Schubert Ian 'Shoey' Schubert (born 22 August 1956) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He later became chief salary cap auditor for the National Rugby League. An Australian international repre ...

also scored a hat-trick tries. English stand-off

Ken Gill Ken Gill (30 August 1927 – 23 May 2009) was a British trade union leader. He was the General Secretary of the Technical, Administrative and Supervisory Section (TASS), from 1974 to 1988, when it merged with ASTMS to form the Manufacturing, Sc ...

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

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 *

Bob Fulton Robert Fulton (1 December 1947 – 23 May 2021), also nicknamed "Bozo", was an Australian international rugby league footballer, coach and later commentator. Fulton played, coached, selected for and has commentated on the game with great succe ...

* John Holmes *

Bill Francis William or Bill Francis may refer to: * William Francis (chemist) (1817–1904), British chemist and publisher * William B. Francis (1860–1954), U.S. Representative from Ohio * William D. Francis (1889–1959), Australian botanist * William T. F ...

;3 * Mark Harris * Graeme Langlands * John Peard * Terry Randall *

Ged Dunn Gerald Dunn (31 October 1946 – 2 August 2021) was an English rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer, who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He coach (sport), coached rugby league in the 1980s and 1990s. Dunn played rugby un ...

* Eric Hughes * Bob Jarvis * Phillip Orchard ;2 * Ray Higgs * John Lang * Lew Platz * Tommy Raudonikis * Steve Rogers *

Patrick Chauvet Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name *Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick or ...

* George Fairbairn * Tony Gordon *

Ken Stirling Kenneth Lorrie Stirling is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer, coach and administrator who represented New Zealand in the 1975 World Championship. Playing career Stirling played for the Ellerslie club in the Auckland Rugby League ...

* Dennis Williams *

Peter Banner Peter Banner was an English-born architect and builder who designed the Park Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts, and other buildings in New England in the early 19th century. Life and career Banner trained in London, and moved to America. I ...

* John Bevan *

David Willicombe David Willicombe (11 March 1951 - 29 March 2023) was a Welsh rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He played at representative level for Great Britain and Wales, and at club level for Ha ...

;1 * Ray Branighan * Graham Eadie * Tim Pickup * John Quayle * Johnny Rhodes * John Atkinson *

Colin Forsyth Colin Forsyth ( – 31 May 2018) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He played at representative level for England, and at club level for Heworth A.R.L.F.C., Oldham, Featherstone Rovers, ...

* Jeff Grayshon *

Brian Hogan Brian Hogan may refer to: * Brian Hogan (Kilkenny hurler) (born 1981), Irish hurler *Brian Hogan (rugby league) (1947–2022), English rugby league footballer *Brian Hogan (Tipperary hurler) (born 1996), Irish hurler *Brian Hogan, Irish musician, me ...

* Thomas Martyn * Roger Millward *

Mick Morgan Mick Morgan (born ) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He played at representative level for England and Yorkshire, and at club level for W ...

Steve Norton Stephen Norton (22 December 1951), also known by the nickname of "Knocker", is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s, and coached in the 1990s. He played at representative level for Great Brita ...

Stuart Wright Stuart Wright may refer to: * Stuart A. Wright, American sociologist * Stuart P. Wright (1903–1982), American athlete * Stuart Pearson Wright (born 1975), English portrait artist * Stuart Wright (rugby league) RL Record Keepers' Club Stuart ...

Bernard Curt Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French language, French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" an ...

René Terrats René (''born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name (Renée being the feminine ...

Tony Coll Anthony Peter Coll ( – 14 May 2020) was a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer and coach who represented New Zealand in three World Cups. Early life and family Coll grew up on the West Coast. He was the son of Peter Coll—a West ...

* Tom Conroy *

Murray Eade Murray Eade is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand in the 1972 and 1975 World Cups. Playing career Eade played for Ellerslie in the Auckland Rugby League competition and also represented Auckland. In 1971 E ...

John Greengrass John Greengrass is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand in the 1970 and 1975 World Cups. Playing career A Linwood Keas player, a Canterbury representative Greengrass made his debut for the New Zealand national ...

Lyndsay Proctor Lyndsay Proctor is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand in the 1975 and 1977 World Cups. Playing career Proctor played for the Ellerslie Eagles in the Auckland Rugby League competition and als ...

John Smith John Smith is a common personal name. It is also commonly used as a placeholder name and pseudonym, and is sometimes used in the United States and the United Kingdom as a term for an average person. It may refer to: People :''In chronological ...

* John Whittaker * Kel Coslett * Tony Fisher *

Brian Gregory Brian Francis Gregory (born December 15, 1966) is an American college basketball coach who was most recently the head men's basketball coach at South Florida. He was previously serving as a consultant to Tom Izzo at Michigan State after being le ...

* John Mantle * Jim Mills * Clive Sullivan * David Treasure * Frank Wilson

References

External links

1975 World Cup at rlhalloffame.org.uk

1975 World Cup at rlwc2008.com

{{Australia squad 1975 Rugby League World Cup