Australia 47–11 New Zealand — World Cup Table, 1970 Rugby League World Cup

21 Oct 1970 · Central Park, Wigan, England · Attendance: 9,805

Data last verified: 11 August 2026.

1970 Rugby League World Cup ▾

World Cup Table, 1970 Rugby League World Cup: Australia 47–11 New Zealand, at Central Park, Wigan, England on 21 Oct 1970.

Scorers

AustraliaTries: Cootes (2); Branighan; Coote; Fulton; McCarthy; Simms; Smith; — further scorer(s) not identified in sources found (needed to reconcile with the 47-point total under this era's 3-point try scoring; sources suggest a possible unlisted ninth try, most likely a Cootes hat-trick, but this is unconfirmed)
Goals: Simms (10)
New ZealandTries: Smith
Goals: Ladner (4) — goal count reported inconsistently across sources (range 1-4); 4 is the value that reconciles with the match's 11-point total

Teams

AustraliaNew Zealand
1Eric SimmsFullbackDon Ladner1
2Ray BranighanWingBob McGuinn2
3John CootesCentreRoy Christian3
4Bob FultonCentreBernie Lowther4
5Lionel WilliamsonWingMaurice Brereton5
6Denis PittardFive-eighthGary Woollard6
7Billy SmithHalfbackGraeme Cooksley7
8John O'NeillPropGarry Smith8
9Elwyn WaltersHookerColin O'Neil9
10Bob O'ReillyPropDoug Gailey10
11Bob McCarthySecond RowBill Deacon11
12Paul SaitSecond RowEddie Heatley12
13Ron CooteLock (Captain)Anthony Kriletich13
Substitutes
14Ron TurnerJohn Greengrass14
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

The 1970 Rugby League World Cup was the fifth staging of the tournament and the first hosted by Great Britain since the inaugural 1954 event, contested by Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and France in a round-robin World Cup Table, with the top two sides meeting in a final at Headingley. Australia arrived as defending champions under coach Harry Bath, and this opening fixture at Central Park, Wigan, on 21 October 1970 set the tone for a lopsided afternoon. The Kangaroos ran in a flood of tries, with John Cootes crossing twice and further tries to Ray Branighan, Ron Coote, Bob Fulton, Bob McCarthy, Eric Simms and Billy Smith. The standout individual performance came from fullback Eric Simms, who produced a goal-kicking exhibition, repeating the exceptional form he had shown at the 1968 World Cup. New Zealand's reply was limited to a try from prop forward Garry Smith and the boot of fullback Don Ladner. The result set the tone for a topsy-turvy tournament: despite this crushing opening win, Australia were then beaten 11-4 by Great Britain at Headingley on 24 October, before also losing 17-15 to France at Odsal on 1 November in what was described as the tournament's finest match. Despite two defeats, Australia's superior points differential saw them through to the final against an undefeated Great Britain side, where Australia won 12-7 in the brutal 'Battle of Headingley' to retain the World Cup. For New Zealand, this heavy opening defeat was part of a tournament in which the Kiwis won only one of their three group matches, underlining the gulf between the Kangaroos and the rest of the field that October in Wigan.

Sourcing caveat: Sources for this match were internally inconsistent across repeated retrievals for Eric Simms's exact goal count (reported as either 9 or 10) and for whether an additional, unnamed Australian try was scored; the reconciling combination used here (9 tries, 10 goals) is the best fit to the confirmed 47-point total, but the identity of a possible ninth Australian try scorer could not be confirmed. New Zealand's goal count for Don Ladner was also reported inconsistently (range 1-4); 4 goals is the value used here as it reconciles exactly with New Zealand's 11-point total.

Previous World Cup meetings

Sources

← 1970 Rugby League World Cup — full match archive

← 1970 Rugby League World Cup