1954 Rugby League World Cup group stage was the main component of the

1954 Rugby League World Cup The 1954 Rugby League World Cup was rugby league football's first World Cup and was held in France in October–November 1954. Officially known as the "Rugby World Cup", SPARC, 2009: 28 four nations competed in the tournament: Australia, France, ...

, with the top two nations qualifying for the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

. The group comprised Australia,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

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 i ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Ladder

France vs New Zealand

France's niggling tactics in their win against New Zealand in the tournament's opening match drew criticism from the media and the Kiwis coach, Jim Amos. New Zealand winger

Jimmy Edwards James Keith O'Neill Edwards, DFC (23 March 19207 July 1988) was an English comedy writer and actor on radio and television, best known as Pa Glum in ''Take It from Here'' and as headmaster "Professor" James Edwards in ''Whack-O!''. Early lif ...

had the distinction of being the first scorer in World Cup history with a try after only five minutes.

Puig-Aubert Puig Aubert (born Robert Aubert Puig, 24 March 1925 – 3 June 1994), is often considered the best French rugby league footballer of all-time. Over a 16-year professional career he would play for Carcassonne, XIII Catalan, Celtic de Paris and C ...

landed the first goal.

Australia vs Great Britain

The British team proved too strong for Australia in both sides' first World Cup game.

Australia vs New Zealand

Australia's victory in this match put them in third position on the ladder and New Zealand last.

France vs Great Britain

The game gripped the attention of the rugby league public as never before with a record crowd of 37,471 attending at Toulouse. That record crowd has still not been beaten in France. The draw resulted in Great Britain and France sharing the lead in the tournament.

France vs Australia

Australia and France were playing for the chance to meet Great Britain in the final. Mistakes cost the Australians the match, so France advanced to the decider.

Great Britain vs New Zealand

References

{{1954 RLWC Venues 1954 Rugby League World Cup