1954 Rugby League World Cup

The first Rugby League World Cup was held in France in 1954. The prime motivators behind the idea of holding rugby league world cup were the French, who were short of money following the seizing of their assets by the rugby union in World War II.

A group stage was held first, with Great Britain topping the table as a result of points difference. They went on to defeat France (who finished second in the table, level on points) in the final, which was held at the Parc des Princes, Paris, in front of around 30,000 spectators.

Results

Group stages

rugbybox
date = 1954-10-30
home = rl-rt|France
score = 22–13
away = rl|New Zealand
stadium = Paris
attendance = 13,240
----rugbybox
date = 1954-10-31
home = rl-rt|Australia
score = 13–28
away = rl|Great Britain
stadium = Lyon
attendance = 10,250
----rugbybox
date = 1954-11-07
home = rl-rt|France
score = 13–13
away = rl|Great Britain
stadium = Toulouse
attendance = 37,471
----rugbybox
date = 1954-11-07
home = rl-rt|Australia
score = 34–15
away = rl|New Zealand
stadium = Marseille
attendance = 20,000----rugbybox
date = 1954-11-11
home = rl-rt|Great Britain
score = 26–6
away = rl|New Zealand
stadium = Bordeaux
attendance = 13,000
----rugbybox
date = 1954-11-11
home = rl-rt|France
score = 15–5
away = rl|Australia
stadium = Nantes
attendance = 13,000

League standings

Final

rugbybox
date = Sat. 13 November, 1954
home = rl-rt|France
score = 12–16
away = rl|Great Britain
stadium = Parc des Princes, Paris
attendance = 30,368
referee = C F Appleton (Great Britain)

Great Britain: Jimmy Ledgard (2 goals); D. Rose (1 try), Phil Jackson, Ally Naughton, Mick Sullivan; G. Brown (2 tries), Gerry Helme (1 try); J. Thorley, S. Smith, R. Coverdale, B. Watts, D. Robinson, Dave Valentine (c)
Manager: G. Shaw

France: Puig Aubert (c) (3 goals); Raymond Contrastin (1 try), Jacques Merquey, Claude Teissiere, Vincent Cantoni (1 try); A. Jiminez, J. Crespo; J. Krawzyck, J. Audobert, F. Rinaldi, Jean Pambrun, A. Save, G. Verdier
Coaches: J. Duhau, R. Duffort

External links

* [http://www.rlhalloffame.org.uk/wc1954.htm 1954 World Cup at rlhalloffame.org.uk]
* [http://origin-www.rlwc2008.twiihosting.net/about/pastwinners.aspx?article=1954 1954 World Cup at rlwc2008.com]
* [http://rugbyleagueproject.com/competitions/World_Cup_1954.html 1954 World Cup at rugbyleagueproject.com]
* [http://www2.hunterlink.net.au/~maajjs/res/wcup1954.htm 1954 World Cup data]