Australia 25–5 New Zealand — World Cup Table, 1957 Rugby League World Cup
15 Jun 1957 · The Gabba, Brisbane, Australia · Attendance: 29,636
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
World Cup Table, 1957 Rugby League World Cup: Australia 25–5 New Zealand, at The Gabba, Brisbane, Australia on 15 Jun 1957.
Scorers
| Australia | Tries: Carlson; Moir; O'Shea; Provan; Wells Goals: Barnes (5) |
| New Zealand | Tries: Johnson Goals: Sorensen |
Teams
| Australia | New Zealand | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keith Barnes | Fullback | Pat Creedy | 1 |
| 2 | Brian Carlson | Wing | Vern Bakalich | 2 |
| 3 | Harry Wells | Centre | William Sorensen | 3 |
| 4 | Dick Poole (Captain) | Centre | Ron Ackland | 4 |
| 5 | Ian Moir | Wing | Tom Hadfield | 5 |
| 6 | Greg Hawick | Five-eighth | George Menzies | 6 |
| 7 | Keith Holman | Halfback | Sel Belsham | 7 |
| 8 | Brian Clay | Lock | William McLennan | 8 |
| 9 | Norm Provan | Second Row | John Butterfield | 9 |
| 10 | Kel O'Shea | Second Row | Henry Maxwell | 10 |
| 11 | Brian Davies | Prop | John Yates | 11 |
| 12 | Ken Kearney | Hooker | Cliff Johnson (Captain) | 12 |
| 13 | Bill Marsh | Prop | Rex Percy | 13 |
| Dick Poole | Coach | Bill Telford | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Vic Belsham (Auckland) |
| Touch judges | — not identified in sources found |
| Player of the match | — not identified in sources found |
Match report
The 1957 Rugby League World Cup was the second staging of the tournament and the first ever held in Australia, timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of rugby league in the country. Unlike the 1954 tournament's knockout format, the 1957 competition adopted a round-robin World Cup Table — four nations played each other once, with the team finishing top of the table crowned champion outright and no final played. The tournament opened on 15 June 1957 with two matches played simultaneously: France met Great Britain at the SCG in Sydney, while Australia hosted New Zealand at The Gabba in Brisbane. Australia fielded a powerful side captained and coached by playing captain-coach Dick Poole. New Zealand's Kiwis, coached by Bill Telford and captained by veteran forward Cliff Johnson, had toured Australia the previous year, giving them some familiarity with the opposition. On the day, Australia asserted clear superiority. The hosts led 10-2 at half-time and pulled away after the break to win comfortably, 25-5. Australia's forward pack and outside backs combined for five tries — scored by Brian Carlson, Ian Moir, Kel O'Shea, Norm Provan and Harry Wells — with fullback Keith Barnes adding five goals from the boot. New Zealand's only points came from a try by captain Cliff Johnson, converted once by centre William Sorensen. The result set the tone for the tournament: Australia went on to win all three of their round-robin matches to finish top of the table and be declared 1957 World Cup champions without needing to play a final. New Zealand's campaign was mixed — they lost this opener to Australia and were also beaten by France, but recorded a notable win over Great Britain later in the tournament.
Previous World Cup meetings
- 1954 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 34–15 New Zealand
- 1960 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 21–15 New Zealand
- 1968 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 31–12 New Zealand
- 1970 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 47–11 New Zealand
- 1972 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 9–5 New Zealand
- 1975 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 36–8 New Zealand
- 1975 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): New Zealand 8–24 Australia
- 1977 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): New Zealand 12–27 Australia
- 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): New Zealand 18–0 Australia
- 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 32–12 New Zealand
- 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup (Final): Australia 25–12 New Zealand
- 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): New Zealand 14–22 Australia
- 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 40–12 New Zealand
- 1995 Rugby League World Cup (Semi-final): Australia 30–20 New Zealand
- 2000 Rugby League World Cup (Final): Australia 40–12 New Zealand
- 2008 Rugby League World Cup (Group A): Australia 30–6 New Zealand
- 2008 Rugby League World Cup (Final): New Zealand 34–20 Australia
- 2013 Rugby League World Cup (Final): Australia 34–2 New Zealand
- 2021 Rugby League World Cup (Semi-final): Australia 16–14 New Zealand