Australia 9–5 New Zealand — World Cup Table, 1972 Rugby League World Cup
1 Nov 1972 · Parc des Princes, Paris, France · Attendance: N/A
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
World Cup Table, 1972 Rugby League World Cup: Australia 9–5 New Zealand, at Parc des Princes, Paris, France on 1 Nov 1972.
Scorers
| Australia | Tries: Fulton; Ward Goals: Branighan (1) Drop goals: Fulton |
| New Zealand | Tries: Whittaker Goals: Wilson (1) |
Teams
| Australia | New Zealand | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Graeme Langlands (c) | Fullback | John Wilson | 1 |
| 2 | John Grant | Wing | Phil Orchard | 2 |
| 3 | Ray Branighan | Centre | Maurice Brereton | 3 |
| 4 | Geoff Starling | Centre | Roy Christian (c) | 4 |
| 5 | Stephen Knight | Wing | John Whittaker | 5 |
| 6 | Bob Fulton | Stand off/Five eighth | Dennis Williams | 6 |
| 7 | Dennis Ward | Scrum half/Half back | Brian Tracey | 7 |
| 8 | John O'Neill | Prop forward | Don Mann | 8 |
| 9 | Elwyn Walters | Hooker | William Burgoyne | 9 |
| 10 | Bob O'Reilly | Prop forward | Doug Gailey | 10 |
| 11 | Gary Sullivan | Second row | Murray Eade | 11 |
| 12 | John Elford | Second row | Robert Paul | 12 |
| 13 | Paul Sait | Loose forward/Lock forward | Peter Gurnick | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Gary Stevens | Rodney Walker | 14 | |
| Harry Bath | Coach | Des Barchard | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Mick Naughton — nationality not confirmed in sources found |
| Player of the match | — not identified in sources found |
Match report
Played at Parc des Princes, Paris. Australia defeated New Zealand 9-5, having lost their previous outing to Great Britain 27-21 at Perpignan. Australia's points came from two tries — by Bob Fulton and Dennis Ward — with Ray Branighan converting one, and Fulton also landing a field goal. New Zealand's only points came from a try by winger John Whittaker, converted by fullback John Wilson.
The 1972 tournament was played across France and used a round-robin table format culminating in the famous 10-10 drawn final between Australia and Great Britain in Lyon.
Previous World Cup meetings
- 1954 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 34–15 New Zealand
- 1957 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 25–5 New Zealand
- 1960 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 21–15 New Zealand
- 1968 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 31–12 New Zealand
- 1970 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 47–11 New Zealand
- 1975 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 36–8 New Zealand
- 1975 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): New Zealand 8–24 Australia
- 1977 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): New Zealand 12–27 Australia
- 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): New Zealand 18–0 Australia
- 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 32–12 New Zealand
- 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup (Final): Australia 25–12 New Zealand
- 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): New Zealand 14–22 Australia
- 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 40–12 New Zealand
- 1995 Rugby League World Cup (Semi-final): Australia 30–20 New Zealand
- 2000 Rugby League World Cup (Final): Australia 40–12 New Zealand
- 2008 Rugby League World Cup (Group A): Australia 30–6 New Zealand
- 2008 Rugby League World Cup (Final): New Zealand 34–20 Australia
- 2013 Rugby League World Cup (Final): Australia 34–2 New Zealand
- 2021 Rugby League World Cup (Semi-final): Australia 16–14 New Zealand