Australia 15–17 France — World Cup Table, 1970 Rugby League World Cup

1 Nov 1970 · Odsal Stadium, Bradford, England · Attendance: 6,654

Data last verified: 11 August 2026.

1970 Rugby League World Cup ▾

World Cup Table, 1970 Rugby League World Cup: Australia 15–17 France, at Odsal Stadium, Bradford, England on 1 Nov 1970.

Scorers

AustraliaTries: Cootes (2); Fulton
Goals: Simms (3)
FranceTries: Marsolan (2); Capdouze
Goals: Capdouze (2)
Drop goals: Capdouze; — further scorer(s)/point(s) not identified in sources found (needed to reconcile with the 17-point total; a possible additional Garrigue field goal was mentioned in one source extraction but not corroborated)

Teams

AustraliaFrance
1Eric SimmsFullbackJean-Claude Cros1
2Ray BranighanWingSerge Marsolan2
3John CootesCentreMichel Molinier3
4Bob FultonCentreRaymond Gruppi4
5Lionel WilliamsonWingDaniel Pellerin5
6Denis PittardFive-eighthJean Capdouze6
7Billy SmithHalfbackRoger Garrigue7
8Barry McTaggartPropChristian Sabatie8
9Elwyn WaltersHookerJacques Cabero9
10Bob O'ReillyPropFloreal Bonet10
11Bob McCarthySecond RowFrancis de Nadai11
12Paul SaitSecond RowRoger Biffi12
13Ron Coote (Captain)LockJean-Pierre Clar (Captain)13
Substitutes
14Ron Turner
15Gary Sullivan
Harry BathCoach— not identified in sources found

Match officials

RefereeBilly Thompson (Huddersfield)
Touch judges— not identified in sources found
Player of the match— not identified in sources found

Match report

Australia's meeting with France at Odsal Stadium, Bradford, on Sunday 1 November 1970 has been described by historians of the code as the tournament's finest match. Australia had opened with a heavy win over New Zealand before suffering a narrow loss to Great Britain at Headingley; coming into this fixture, the Kangaroos under coach Harry Bath needed a win to keep their qualification hopes clean, while France needed something special to salvage the tournament. Australian centre Bob Fulton scored inside the opening seconds of the match, in what is often cited as one of the fastest tries ever recorded in an international rugby league match, immediately setting an electric tempo. The match then swung back and forth between the two sides — Australia's power finishing through John Cootes and the boot of Eric Simms against France's flair, led by the half-back pairing of Jean Capdouze and Roger Garrigue, and finisher Serge Marsolan out wide. The scores were locked level with only around ten minutes remaining, when French stand-off Jean Capdouze split the posts with a long-range field goal to put France in front — a score that held up as the match-winner and sent Odsal into raptures for the French. The result remains one of the most celebrated performances in French rugby league history — a rare, famous away win over Australia on English soil — and it directly shaped the destination of the 1970 World Cup itself, since it forced Australia to rely on points differential to squeeze into the final, which they went on to win 12-7 over Great Britain at Headingley on 7 November 1970.

Sourcing caveat: Research this session confirmed that international rugby league field goals were worth 2 points (not 1) until a rule change in 1973, applicable to this 1970 match. Even correcting for this, France's scorer breakdown as sourced (3 tries, 2 Capdouze goals, 1 Capdouze field goal) accounts for 15 of France's 17 points (9+4+2); a possible additional Roger Garrigue field goal was mentioned in one source extraction but could not be corroborated a second time, so the remaining 2-point gap is flagged rather than filled with an unconfirmed scorer.

Previous World Cup meetings

Sources

← 1970 Rugby League World Cup — full match archive

← 1970 Rugby League World Cup