France 14–10 New Zealand — World Cup Table, 1957 Rugby League World Cup
17 Jun 1957 · The Gabba, Brisbane, Australia · Attendance: 28,000
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
World Cup Table, 1957 Rugby League World Cup: France 14–10 New Zealand, at The Gabba, Brisbane, Australia on 17 Jun 1957.
Scorers
| France | Tries: Foussat (2) Goals: Benausse (4) |
| New Zealand | Tries: Hadfield; Sorensen Goals: Creedy; Sorensen |
Teams
| France | New Zealand | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andre Rives | Fullback | Pat Creedy | 1 |
| 2 | Guy Husson | Wing | Vern Bakalich | 2 |
| 3 | Jacques Merquey (Captain) | Centre | George Turner | 3 |
| 4 | Maurice Voron | Centre | William Sorensen | 4 |
| 5 | Jean Foussat | Wing | Tom Hadfield | 5 |
| 6 | Gilbert Benausse | Five-eighth | George Menzies | 6 |
| 7 | Rene Jean | Halfback | Sel Belsham | 7 |
| 8 | Rene Ferrero | Prop | Henry Maxwell | 8 |
| 9 | Antranick Apelian | Hooker | John Butterfield | 9 |
| 10 | Gabriel Berthomieu | Prop | John Yates | 10 |
| 11 | Robert Medus | Second Row | Cliff Johnson (Captain) | 11 |
| 12 | Gilbert Verdie | Second Row | Kevin Pearce | 12 |
| 13 | Francis Levy | Lock | Jim Riddell | 13 |
| Jean Duhau | Coach | Bill Telford | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Darcy Lawler (Sydney) |
| Touch judges | — not identified in sources found |
| Player of the match | — not identified in sources found |
Match report
The France-New Zealand fixture was played on the Monday evening of the opening round of matches, 17 June 1957, at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground before a crowd of 28,000, kicking off under lights. New Zealand's Kiwis, coached by Bill Telford and captained by second-rower Cliff Johnson, were considered the weakest of the four touring sides on paper. France, captained by Jacques Merquey, held a narrow half-time lead built on Jean Foussat's early try and Gilbert Benausse's accurate boot, and held on after the break despite tries from Tom Hadfield and William Sorensen for the Kiwis. Foussat's double and Benausse's four successful goal-kicks proved the difference, with France closing out a 14-10 win. The result was significant because it effectively eliminated New Zealand from title contention early in the tournament and kept France's own faint hopes alive, though France would go on to lose to both Great Britain and Australia and finish level on competition points with GB and NZ, well adrift of an unbeaten Australian side who won all three of their round-robin matches to be crowned champions without playing a final. For New Zealand, already regarded as underdogs, the loss to France condemned them to a lower finish in the four-team table.
Previous World Cup meetings
- 1954 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): France 22–13 New Zealand
- 1960 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): France 0–9 New Zealand
- 1968 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): New Zealand 10–15 France
- 1970 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): France 15–16 New Zealand
- 1972 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): France 20–9 New Zealand
- 1975 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): New Zealand 27–0 France
- 1975 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): France 12–12 New Zealand
- 1977 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): New Zealand 28–20 France
- 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): France 0–22 New Zealand
- 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): France 0–34 New Zealand
- 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): New Zealand 32–10 France
- 2000 Rugby League World Cup (Quarter-final): New Zealand 54–6 France
- 2013 Rugby League World Cup (Group B): New Zealand 48–0 France