Australia 21–15 New Zealand — World Cup Table, 1960 Rugby League World Cup

1 Oct 1960 · Headingley, Leeds, England · Attendance: 10,773

Data last verified: 11 August 2026.

1960 Rugby League World Cup ▾

World Cup Table, 1960 Rugby League World Cup: Australia 21–15 New Zealand, at Headingley, Leeds, England on 1 Oct 1960.

Scorers

AustraliaTries: Carlson (3); Gasnier; Wells
Goals: Carlson (3)
New ZealandTries: Hadfield; Menzies; Turner
Goals: Eastlake (3)

Teams

AustraliaNew Zealand
1Keith Barnes (Captain)FullbackGary Phillips1
2Brian CarlsonWingTom Hadfield2
3Reg GasnierCentreGeorge Turner3
4Harry WellsCentreCyril Eastlake4
5Ken IrvineWingNeville Denton5
6Tony BrownFive-eighthGeorge Menzies6
7Barry MuirHalfbackKeith Roberts7
8Gary ParcellPropHenry Maxwell8
9Noel KellyHookerJohn Butterfield9
10Dud BeattiePropCliff Johnson (Captain)10
11Rex MossopSecond RowLaurie Oliff11
12Brian HamblySecond RowRon Ackland12
13John RaperLockMel Cooke13
Keith BarnesCoachTravers Hardwick

Match officials

RefereeEric Clay (Leeds)
Touch judges— not identified in sources found
Player of the match— not identified in sources found

Match report

Australia opened their campaign with a narrow 13-12 win over France at Central Park, while Great Britain thumped New Zealand 23-8 at Odsal. A week later, on 1 October, Australia met New Zealand at Headingley in Leeds — a fixture that would go a long way toward deciding who joined Great Britain in the title race. At Headingley, the Kangaroos — captained and coached by fullback Keith Barnes — took control early, going into half-time with an 8-2 lead. Wing Brian Carlson was the outstanding individual performer of the match, running in a hat-trick of tries and adding the goal-kicking as well, a notable feature of the whole tournament for Carlson, who finished as the World Cup's leading try-scorer with four tries and its leading points-scorer with 22 points across the campaign. Centres Reg Gasnier and Harry Wells each crossed for a try to help extend the lead. New Zealand, coached by Travers Hardwick and captained by prop Cliff Johnson, fought back in the second half through tries to wingman Tom Hadfield, five-eighth George Menzies and centre George Turner, with centre Cyril Eastlake landing three goals, but they could not close the gap, going down 21-15. The result meant Australia moved to two wins from two matches, keeping them in strong contention alongside an unbeaten Great Britain for the title. A week later, Great Britain beat Australia 10-3 at Odsal to claim the title as hosts, while New Zealand closed out their tournament with a 9-0 win over France.

Previous World Cup meetings

Sources

← 1960 Rugby League World Cup — full match archive

← 1960 Rugby League World Cup