World Cup - 1995    Previous    Next

Details from "The Vault"

The eleventh Rugby League World Cup was badged the '''Centenary World Cup''', reflecting the fact that 1995 marked the 100th birthday of the sport. The competition was envisaged as a celebration of Rugby League, and the size of the competition was doubled with 5 additional teams qualifying for the tournament. In addition, an Emerging Nations Tournament was held alongside the main event, giving teams that had failed to qualify a chance of silverware.

The tournament had been preceded by doubts and pessimism; many feared that it would produce one-sided-matches that would be unattractive to supporters. The forthcoming Super League war hung over the tournament, with the Australian Rugby League refusing to pick players who had signed for the rival competition.

In the event, the fears proved unfounded, and the cup was acclaimed a great success. Although many early matches did prove as one-sided as feared, fans still flocked to see "exotic" nations such as Fiji, Tonga and South Africa, mainly for the novelty value of such encounters. Large home crowds for the group involving Wales proved particularly encouraging.

The final between Australia and England drew a crowd of 66,540 to Wembley Stadium.

England. Coach: Phil Larder. Manager: Phil Lowe. Squad: John Bentley (Halifax), Denis Betts (Auckland), Paul Broadbent (Sheffield Eagles), Mick Cassidy (Wigan), Phil Clarke (Sydney City), Gary Connolly (Wigan), Paul Cook (Leeds), Shaun Edwards (Wigan), Andrew Farrell (Wigan), Bobbie Goulding (St Helens), Karl Harrison (Halifax), Simon Haughton (Wigan), Lee Jackson (Sheffield Eagles), Chris Joynt (St Helens), Barrie-Jon Mather (Wigan), Steve McCurrie (Widnes), Paul Newlove (Bradford Bulls), Martin Offiah (Wigan), Nick Pinkney (Keighley Cougars), Andrew Platt (Auckland/Widnes), Daryl Powell (Keighley Cougars), Kris Radlinski (Wigan), Jason Robinson (Wigan), Dean Sampson (Castleford), Tony Smith (Castleford).

Wales. Coach: Clive Griffiths. Manager: Mike Nicholas. Squad: Paul Atcheson (Oldham), Allan Bateman (Warrington), Dean Busby (St Helens), Neil Cowie (Wigan), Keiron Cunningham (St Helens), Jonathan Davies (Warrington), John Devereux (Widnes), Kevin Ellis (Warrington), Richard Eyres (Leeds), Phil Ford (Salford), Scott Gibbs (St Helens), Jonathan Griffiths (St Helens), Adrian Hadley (Widnes), Martin Hall (Wigan), Iestyn Harris (Warrington), Mark Jones (Warrington), Paul Moriarty (Halifax), Mark Perrett (Halifax), Rowland Philips (Workington Town), Scott Quinnell (Wigan), Kelvin Skerrett (Wigan), Gareth Stephens (Castleford), Anthony Sullivan (St Helens), Richard Webster (Salford), David Young (Salford).

World Cup Final, Saturday 28th October 1995.    Back to top

Australia 16

(Rod Wishart, Tim Brasher tries; Andrew Johns 4 goals)

England 8

(Paul Newlove try; Bobbie Goulding 2 goals)

Wembley Stadium London. Crowd: 66,540.

Referee: Stuart Cummings (England).

Australia: Tim Brasher; Rod Wishart, Mark Coyne, Terry Hill, Brett Dallas; Brad Fittler (c), Geoff Toovey; Dean Pay, Andrew Johns, Mark Carroll, Steven Menzies, Gary Larson, Jim Dymock; Jason Smith. Not used: Robbie O'Davis, Matthew Johns, Nik Kosef.

England: Kris Radlinski; Jason Robinson, Gary Connolly, Paul Newlove, Martin Offiah; Tony Smith, Bobbie Goulding; Karl Harrison, Lee Jackson, Andy Platt, Denis Betts (c), Phil Clarke, Andrew Farrell; Mick Cassidy, Chris Joynt. Not used: Barrie-Jon Mather, Nick Pinkney.