New Zealand 10–15 France — World Cup Table, 1968 Rugby League World Cup

25 May 1968 · Carlaw Park, Auckland, New Zealand · Attendance: 18,000

Data last verified: 11 August 2026.

1968 Rugby League World Cup ▾

World Cup Table, 1968 Rugby League World Cup: New Zealand 10–15 France, at Carlaw Park, Auckland, New Zealand on 25 May 1968.

Scorers

New ZealandGoals: Wiggs (5)
FranceTries: Capdouze
Goals: Capdouze (5)
Drop goals: Garrigue

Teams

New ZealandFrance
1Roger TaitFullbackJean-Claude Cros1
2Bob MinchamWingDaniel Pellerin2
3Ray SinelCentreJean-Pierre Lecompte3
4Paul SchultzCentreMichel Molinier4
5Ernie WiggsWingAndre Ferren5
6Jim Bond (Captain)Five-eighthJean Capdouze6
7Gary ClarkeHalfbackRoger Garrigue7
8Garry SmithPropChristian Sabatie8
9Colin O'NeilHookerYves Begou9
10Oscar DanielsonPropGeorges Ailleres (Captain)10
11Kevin DixonSecond RowFrancis de Nadai11
12Brian LeeSecond Row (sent off, 12th minute)Henri Marracq12
13Anthony KriletichLockJean-Pierre Clar13
Substitutes
14Henry TatanaAdolphe Alesina14
Des BarchardCoachAndre Lacoste

Match officials

RefereeCol Pearce (Sydney)
Touch judges— not identified in sources found
Player of the match— not identified in sources found

Match report

The 1968 Rugby League World Cup was the fourth staging of the tournament and the first to be co-hosted by two nations, Australia and New Zealand, with matches also played under the newly introduced limited-tackle rule (four tackles before a change of possession) — a significant tactical change from the unlimited-possession rugby league that had gone before, placing a premium on kicking and territorial control. This France v New Zealand fixture at Carlaw Park, Auckland, was the tournament opener, played the same day as Australia's 25-10 win over Great Britain at the Sydney Cricket Ground. New Zealand, as co-hosts, would have hoped to start strongly in front of a crowd of 18,000, but the Kiwis fell to a below-par France side by 15 points to 10 in a match remembered chiefly for a red card and the individual brilliance of French stand-off Jean Capdouze. Only twelve minutes into the match, New Zealand second-rower Brian Lee was sent from the field, leaving the Kiwis to play the majority of the game a man light. Despite this disadvantage, New Zealand competed well enough to trail only narrowly at half-time before France pulled away in the second half. The individual story of the match was Capdouze, who scored a try and landed 5 of 10 goal attempts for 13 of France's 15 points, with halfback Roger Garrigue supplying the remainder via field goals — reflecting the low-tackle-count, kicking-oriented rugby league that the new four-tackle rule was producing. For New Zealand, winger Ernie Wiggs was the sole points contributor, converting 5 of 9 goal attempts for the Kiwis' full 10 points. The match also had historical significance as the site of the first-ever substitution in Rugby League World Cup history, when French second-rower Francis de Nadai was replaced by Adolphe Alesina. In the wider tournament context, this result set the tone for New Zealand's disappointing World Cup as co-hosts: they went on to lose all three of their round-robin matches and finished bottom of the four-team table without a win. France, by contrast, built on this opening win, later upsetting Great Britain 7-2 at Auckland to qualify for the World Cup Final against Australia at the SCG on 10 June 1968, a final France lost 20-2.

Sourcing caveat: Research this session confirmed that international rugby league field goals were worth 2 points (not 1) until a rule change in 1973, which corrects an earlier assumption used elsewhere in this file. Under the correct 1968 scoring (try=3, goal=2, field goal=2), Garrigue's single field goal reconciles France's total exactly (1 try + 5 goals + 1 field goal = 3+10+2 = 15).

Previous World Cup meetings

Sources

← 1968 Rugby League World Cup — full match archive

← 1968 Rugby League World Cup