Rugby League World Cup records

Main article: Rugby League World Cup

Rugby League World Cup records have been accumulating since the first Rugby League World Cup tournament was held in 1954.

Team Records

All-time record

Further information: Rugby League World Cup overall record
Top four finishes
Team Champions Runners-up Third / Fourth / Losing Semi-finalists
 Australia 12 (1957, 1968, 1970, 1975, 1977, 1988, 1992, 1995, 2000, 2013, 2017, 2021) 3 (1960, 1972, 2008) 1 (1954)
 Great Britain 3 (1954, 1960, 1972) 4 (1964, 1970, 1977, 1992) 2 (1968, 1988)
 New Zealand 1 (2008) 3 (1985–88, 2000, 2013) 11 (1954, 1957, 1960, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1992, 1995, 2021)
 England 3 (1975, 1995, 2017) 4 (2000, 2008, 2013, 2021)
 France 2 (1954, 1968) 6 (1957, 1960, 1970, 1972, 1977, 1992)
 Samoa

1 (2021)

 Wales

3 (1975, 1995, 2000)

 Fiji

3 (2008, 2013, 2017)

 Papua New Guinea

1 (1988)

 Tonga

1 (2017)

  • Tournaments between 1954–1992 did not feature semi-final and quarter-final rounds.

Title win rate

Team Win rate
 Australia 75.00%
 Great Britain 33.33%
 New Zealand 6.67%

Biggest wins

Rank Winner Score Loser Points Year
1  Australia 110-4  Russia 106 2000
2  England 94-4  Greece 90 2021
3  Australia 84-0  Scotland 84 2021
4  Tonga 92-10  Cook Islands 82 2021
5  Australia 86-6  South Africa 80 1995

Individual records

Most appearances

Rank Player Country(s) Years Apps
1 Kurt Sorensen  New Zealand 1975–1989 25
2 John Atkinson  Great Britain
 England 		1970–1980 17
Bob Fulton  Australia 1968–1978
Cameron Smith  Australia 2008–2017
5 Mal Meninga  Australia 1982–1994 15
Michael O'Connor  Australia 1985–1990
Chris Hill  England 2013-

Top try scorers

Rank Player Country(s) Years Tries
1 Billy Slater  Australia 2008–2017 16
2 Jarryd Hayne  Australia
 Fiji 		2008–2017 14
Ryan Hall  England 2013–
4 Bob Fulton  Australia 1968–1975 13
Valentine Holmes  Australia 2017–

Top points scorers

Rank Player Country(s) Years Points
1 Johnathan Thurston  Australia 2008–2017 124
2 Shaun Johnson  New Zealand 2013–2017 120
3 Mick Cronin  Australia 1975–1982 112
4 Michael O'Connor  Australia 1985–1990 108
5 George Fairbairn  Great Britain
 England 		1975–1982 94

Most tries in a tournament

Tries Player Year
12 Australia Valentine Holmes 2017
12 Australia Josh Addo-Carr 2021
10 Australia Wendell Sailor 2000
9 Australia Jarryd Hayne 2013
Australia Brett Morris 2013
England Dominic Young 2021
7 Australia Billy Slater 2008

Most tries in a match

Tries Player Year
6 Australia Valentine Holmes 2017
5 Australia Valentine Holmes 2017
Australia Josh Addo-Carr 2021
England Tommy Makinson 2021

Miscellaneous

Winning captains and coaches

A foreign coach has never managed a World Cup-winning team.

Year Captain Coach Team
1954 Scotland Dave Valentine England G Shaw  Great Britain
1957 Australia Dick Poole Australia Dick Poole  Australia
1960 England Eric Ashton England William Fallowfield  Great Britain
1968 AustraliaJohnny Raper AustraliaHarry Bath  Australia
1970 Ron Coote Harry Bath  Australia
1972 Wales Clive Sullivan England Jim Challinor  Great Britain
1975 Arthur Beetson Graeme Langlands  Australia
1977 Arthur Beetson Terry Fearnley  Australia
1988 Wally Lewis Don Furner  Australia
1992 Mal Meninga Bob Fulton  Australia
1995 Brad Fittler Bob Fulton  Australia
2000 Brad Fittler Chris Anderson  Australia
2008 Nathan Cayless Stephen Kearney  New Zealand
2013 Australia Cameron Smith Australia Tim Sheens  Australia
2017 Australia Cameron Smith Australia Mal Meninga  Australia

Draws

Team Score Opponent Date
 France 13–13  Great Britain 7 November 1954
 Great Britain 10–10*  Australia 11 November 1972
 New Zealand 17–17  England 21 June 1975
 Australia 10–10  England 28 June 1975
 France 12–12  New Zealand 17 October 1975
 Great Britain 6–6  New Zealand 9 November 1985
 France 10–10  Great Britain 16 February 1986
 Papua New Guinea 28–28  Tonga 10 October 1995
 Cook Islands 22–22  Lebanon 5 November 2000
 Samoa 14–14  Scotland 11 November 2017

* After Extra Time

Nil points

Team Score Opponent Date
 France 0–9  New Zealand 8 October 1960
 France 0–6  Great Britain 28 October 1970
 France 0–27  New Zealand 15 June 1975
 England 0–25  Australia 12 November 1975
 Australia 0–18  New Zealand 7 July 1985
 France 0–22  New Zealand 7 December 1985
 France 0–52  Australia 13 December 1986
 Papua New Guinea 0–42  Great Britain 24 October 1987
 France 0–34  New Zealand 3 December 1989
 Great Britain 0–14  Australia 24 November 1990
 France 0–36  Great Britain 7 March 1992
 Fiji 0–46  England 11 October 1995
 Fiji 0–66  Australia 14 October 1995
 South Africa 0–46  England 14 October 1995
 Lebanon 0–64  New Zealand 29 October 2000
 South Africa 0–16  Papua New Guinea 2 November 2000
 Fiji 0–52  Australia 16 November 2008
 France 0–48  New Zealand 1 November 2013
 Ireland 0–42  England 2 November 2013
 Ireland 0–50  Australia 9 November 2013
 Italy 0–16  Tonga 10 November 2013
 United States 0–62  Australia 16 November 2013
 Fiji 0–64  Australia 23 November 2013
 United States 0–46  Italy 5 November 2017
 Lebanon 0–34  Australia 11 November 2017
 United States 0–64  Papua New Guinea 12 November 2017
 Samoa 0–46  Australia 17 November 2017
 England 0–6  Australia 2 December 2017
 Scotland 0–84  Australia 21 October 2022[1]
 Wales 0–36  Papua New Guinea 31 October 2022[2]

Attendance Records

The 2013 Rugby League World Cup final at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, drew a world record international rugby league attendance of 74,468.[3]

Top 5 match attendances

Year Venue City/Country Event Result Attendance
2013 Old Trafford Manchester, England Final  Australia def.  New Zealand 34–2 74,468
1989–92 Wembley Stadium (1923) London, England Final  Australia def.  Great Britain 10–6 73,631
2013 Wembley Stadium London, England Semi Final (double header)  Australia def.  Fiji 64–0
 New Zealand def.  England 20–18		 67,575
1995 Wembley Stadium (1923) London, England Final  Australia def.  England 16–8 66,540
1968 Sydney Cricket Ground Sydney, Australia Group stage  Australia def.  Great Britain 25–10 62,256

Top 5 World Cup final attendances

Year Venue City/Country Result Attendance
2013 Old Trafford Manchester, England  Australia def.  New Zealand 34–2 74,468
1992 Wembley Stadium (1923) London, England  Australia def.  Great Britain 10–6 73,631
1995 Wembley Stadium (1923) London, England  Australia def.  England 16–8 66,540
1968 Sydney Cricket Ground Sydney, Australia  Australia def.  France 20–2 54,290
2008 Suncorp Stadium Brisbane, Australia  New Zealand def.  Australia 34–20 50,599

Highest Attendance per Host Nation

Country Year Venue City Event Result Attendance
England 2013 Old Trafford Manchester Final  Australia def.  New Zealand 34–2 74,468
Australia 1968 Sydney Cricket Ground Sydney Group stage  Australia def.  Great Britain 25–10 62,256
New Zealand 1988 Eden Park Auckland Final  Australia def.  New Zealand 25–12 47,363
Wales 2013 Millennium Stadium Cardiff Group stage (double header)  Australia def.  England 28–20
 Italy def.  Wales 32–16		 45,052
France 1954 Stadium de Toulouse Toulouse Group stage  France drew with  Great Britain 13–13 37,471
Papua New Guinea 1986 Lloyd Robson Oval Port Moresby Group stage  Australia def.  Papua New Guinea 62–12 17,000
Ireland 2013 Thomond Park Limerick Group stage  Australia def.  Ireland 50–0 5,021
Northern Ireland 2000 Windsor Park Belfast Group stage  Ireland def.  Samoa 30–16 3,207
Scotland 2000 Firhill Stadium Glasgow Group stage  Aotearoa Māori def.  Scotland 17–16 2,008

See also

References

  1. ^ "Australia 84–0 Scotland". RLWC2021. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  2. ^ "Papua New Guinea 36–0 Wales". RLWC2021. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  3. ^ Fletcher, Paul (30 November 2013). "Rugby League World Cup 2013: New Zealand 2–34 Australia". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2 December 2013.