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 Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

were split up into separate

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

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 Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

and

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

. England also played a 'home' game against Wales at Lang Park in Brisbane, Australia.

Results

In this match Mick Cronin 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, a ...

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 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 * Mick Cronin ;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 ...

* Ken Gill * John Holmes * Bill Francis ;3 * Mark Harris *

Graeme Langlands Graeme Frank Langlands, MBE, (2 September 1941 – 20 January 2018), also known by the nickname of "Changa", was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. and coached in the 1970s. He retire ...

John Peard John "Bomber" Peard (born 15 January 1945) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and later coach. An Australian international and New South Wales representative , he played for the Eastern Suburbs, St George and Parramatta NSWRFL ...

Terry Randall Terry William "Igor" Randall (born 5 February 1951 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played for the Manly-Warringah club in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership. He is regularly n ...

* Ged Dunn * Eric Hughes * Bob Jarvis *

Phillip Orchard Phillip Charles Orchard (28 July 1948 – 29 July 2018) was a New Zealand rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand in the 1972 and 1975 World Cups. He was later named in the New Zealand Rugby League's Team of the Century. His brother ...

;2 *

Ray Higgs Ray Higgs (born 1950) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s. An Australian international and Queensland representative forward, he played club football in the NSWRFL Premiership with Sydney's Parramatta Eels ...

* John Lang *

Lew Platz Lew Platz (born 2 October 1952) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. In his career he played for and the Penrith Panthers and the Parramatta Eels clubs and also represented Australia an ...

Tommy Raudonikis Thomas Walter Raudonikis (13 April 1950 – 7 April 2021) was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. He played 40 International games and World Cup games as Australia representative and captained his country in two matches of the 1 ...

* Steve Rogers * Patrick Chauvet * George Fairbairn *

Tony Gordon Tony Gordon is a Character (arts), fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', portrayed by actor Gray O'Brien. The character first appeared on-screen on 16 Sep ...

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 a ...

* Dennis Williams * Peter Banner * 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 Ray Branighan (born 5 December 1947) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, a star and of the 1970s for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, as well as the New South Wales state and Australian nat ...

Graham Eadie Graham "Wombat" Eadie (born 25 November 1953), is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He has been named amongst Australia's finest of the 20th century. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian ...

Tim Pickup Timothy Alexander Pickup (6 October 1948 – 7 June 2021) was an Australian Rugby League footballer for the North Sydney Bears, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, New South Wales and Australian national side in the 1970s. He played Rugby Union for ...

* John Quayle * Johnny Rhodes * John Atkinson * Colin Forsyth *

Jeff Grayshon Jeffrey Grayshon MBE (4 March 1949 – 21 March 2021) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1990s. He played at representative level for Great Britain and England, and a ...

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, m ...

Thomas Martyn Thomas Martyn (23 September 1735 – 3 June 1825) was an English botanist and Professor of Botany at Cambridge University. He is sometimes confused with the conchologist and entomologist of the same name. Life Thomas Martyn was the son of th ...

Roger Millward Roger Millward (16 September 1947 – 2 May 2016) was an English rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. A goal-kicking , he gained a high level of prominence in the sport in England by p ...

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 Wakef ...

* Steve Norton * Stuart Wright * Bernard Curt * René Terrats * Tony Coll *

Tom Conroy Thomas P. Conroy (born July 7, 1962) is an American politician who served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives for the 13th Middlesex district from 2007 to 2015. Early life and education Conroy was born in New York City, New ...

* Murray Eade * John Greengrass *

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 also ...

* John Smith * John Whittaker *

Kel Coslett Thomas Kelvin Coslett (born 14 January 1942) is a Welsh former dual-code international rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s, and coached rugby league in the 1970s and 1980s. He played represent ...

* 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 Bulls men's basketball, South Florida. He was previously serving as a consultant to Tom ...

* John Mantle * Jim Mills *

Clive Sullivan Clive Anthony Sullivan MBE (9 April 1943 – 8 October 1985) was a Welsh rugby league footballer. A Great Britain and Wales international winger, he played for both Hull F.C. and Hull Kingston Rovers in his career, and also for Oldham ( Herit ...

David Treasure David Treasure (born ) is an English-born former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s. He played at representative level for Wales, and at club level for Featherstone Rovers (Under-17s), The Junction (Open-Age, 11-A-Sid ...

* 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