RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP

 

Host Nation - World Wide (England, France, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand)

Number of Teams - 5

Highest Crowd - 47,363 Auckland, New Zealand (Record crowd for WC game in NZ)

Average Crowd - 14,106

Total Crowd - 253,931

1985 to 1988 World Cup Snapshot - The 1985 - 1988 World Cup saw Papua New Guinea play in the World Cup for the first time. The tournament also had a new format with games played on a home and away basis over four years. In the end the World Cup Final was played at Eden Park, Auckland in front 47,363 spectators. The crowd was a record for league in New Zealand. New Zealand were playing in a World Cup final for the first time. The game itself broke out into brawls throughout the match. The Australian's lead by captain Wally Lewis proved to strong beating New Zealand 25 - 12.

Game 1

Jul 7th 1985 New Zealand 18 - Australia 0

Location - Auckland, New Zealand

Crowd - 19,000

 

Game 2

Nov 9th 1985 New Zealand 6 - Great Britain 6

Location - Leeds, England

Crowd - 22,209

 

Game 3

Dec 7th 1985 New Zealand 22 - France 0

Location - Perpignan, France

Crowd - 5,000

 

Game 4

Feb 16th 1986 France 10 - Great Britain 10

Location - Avignon, France

Crowd - 5,000

 

Game 5

Jul 29th 1986 Australia 32 - New Zealand 12

Location - Brisbane, Australia

Crowd - 22,811

 

Game 6

Aug 17th 1986 Papua New Guinea 24 - New Zealand 22

Location - Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Crowd - 15,000

 

Game 7

Oct 5th 1986 Australia 62 - Papua New Guinea 12

Location - Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Crowd - 17,000

 

Game 8

Nov 22nd 1986 Australia 24 - Great Britain 15

Location - Wigan, England

Crowd - 20,169

 

Game 9

Dec 13th 1986 Australia 52 - France 0

Location - Carcassonne, France

Crowd - 3,000

 

Game 10

Jan 14th 1987 Great Britain 52 - France 4

Location - Leeds, England

Crowd - 6,567

 

Game 11

Oct 24th 1987 Great Britain 42 - Papua New Guinea 0

Location - Wigan, England

Crowd - 9,121

 

Game 12

Nov 15th 1987 France 21 - Papua New Guinea 4

Location - Carcassonne, France

Crowd - 5,000

 

Game 13

May 22nd 1988 Great Britain 42 - Papua New Guinea 22

Location - Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Crowd - 12,077

 

Game 14

Jul 9th 1988 Great Britain 26 - Australia 12

Location - Sydney, Australia

Crowd - 15,994

 

Game 15

Jul 10th 1988 New Zealand 66 - Papua New Guinea 14

Location - Auckland, New Zealand

Crowd - 8,392

 

Game 16

Jul 17th 1988 Australia 70 - Papua New Guinea 8

Location - Wagga Wagga, Australia

Crowd - 11,685

 

Game 17

Jul 20th 1988 New Zealand 12 - Great Britain 10

Location - Christchurch, New Zealand

Crowd - 8,525

 

 

Final Table

Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	PTS
Australia	7	5	0	2	252	91	12*
New Zealand	7	4	1	2	158	86	11*
Great Britain	8	4	2	2	203	90	10
Papua New Guinea	7	1	0	6	84	325	4*
France	5	1	1	3	35	140	3

* 2 points awarded as France did not play scheduled game.