France 15–16 New Zealand — World Cup Table, 1970 Rugby League World Cup
25 Oct 1970 · The Boulevard, Hull, England · Attendance: 3,824Lowest-attended match of the tournament
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
World Cup Table, 1970 Rugby League World Cup: France 15–16 New Zealand, at The Boulevard, Hull, England on 25 Oct 1970.
Scorers
| France | Tries: Marsolan (2); Bonal Goals: Capdouze (3) |
| New Zealand | Tries: Brereton; Cooksley Goals: Ladner (5) |
Teams
| France | New Zealand | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jean-Claude Cros | Fullback | Don Ladner | 1 |
| 2 | Serge Marsolan | Wing | John Whittaker | 2 |
| 3 | Michel Molinier | Centre | Roy Christian (Captain) | 3 |
| 4 | Andre Ruiz | Centre | Bernie Lowther | 4 |
| 5 | Elie Bonal | Wing | Maurice Brereton | 5 |
| 6 | Jean Capdouze | Five-eighth | Gary Woollard | 6 |
| 7 | Roger Garrigue | Halfback | Graeme Cooksley | 7 |
| 8 | Christian Sabatie | Prop | John Greengrass | 8 |
| 9 | Jacques Cabero | Hooker | Colin O'Neil | 9 |
| 10 | Floreal Bonet | Prop | Doug Gailey | 10 |
| 11 | Herve Mazard | Second Row | Garry Smith | 11 |
| 12 | Roger Biffi | Second Row | Elliot Kereopa | 12 |
| 13 | Jean-Pierre Clar (Captain) | Lock | Anthony Kriletich | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Francis de Nadai | Bill Deacon | 14 | |
| Lummy Graham | 15 | |||
| Jep Lacoste | Coach | Lory Blanchard | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Billy Thompson (Huddersfield) |
| Touch judges | — not identified in sources found |
| Player of the match | — not identified in sources found (Serge Marsolan's length-of-field try is singled out in historical accounts as the try of the tournament, though no formal man-of-the-match award is recorded for this fixture) |
Match report
France and New Zealand met at The Boulevard, Hull, on Sunday 25 October 1970, each side chasing its first points of the World Cup Table after Australia's rout of New Zealand and Great Britain's win over Australia in the opening rounds. The match was played on a heavily rain-affected, muddy pitch, with contemporary accounts describing the conditions as a mud-bath. Despite the difficult underfoot conditions, the game was closely fought and produced one of the most memorable individual moments of the whole tournament: French winger Serge Marsolan famously ran the length of the field from behind his own try-line to score what has been described in historical accounts as the try of the tournament — an extraordinary solo effort given the atrocious conditions. Marsolan in fact scored twice in the match, underlining his dominant personal performance, and stand-off Jean Capdouze kept France in touch with the boot, landing three goals. New Zealand, however, showed greater composure and game management to edge out the tightly-contested affair. Tries from winger Maurice Brereton and halfback Graeme Cooksley were backed up by a superb kicking display from fullback Don Ladner, who slotted five goals to give the Kiwis the two extra points they needed for a 16-15 victory. The result meant France remained without a win after this round of the table, while New Zealand recorded their sole win of the tournament. The match is remembered principally today for Marsolan's spectacular length-of-field try rather than for its bearing on the destination of the trophy, since neither France nor New Zealand would go on to seriously challenge Australia or Great Britain at the top of the table.
Previous World Cup meetings
- 1954 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): France 22–13 New Zealand
- 1957 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): France 14–10 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
- 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