Great Britain 27–21 Australia — World Cup Table, 1972 Rugby League World Cup
29 Oct 1972 · Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan, France · Attendance: N/A
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
World Cup Table, 1972 Rugby League World Cup: Great Britain 27–21 Australia, at Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan, France on 29 Oct 1972.
Scorers
| Great Britain | Tries: Atkinson; Lowe; O'Neill; Stephenson; Sullivan Goals: Clawson (6) |
| Australia | Tries: Fulton; Raudonikis; — further scorer(s) not identified in sources found (needed to reconcile with the 21-point total under this era's 3-point try scoring) Goals: Langlands (4) |
Teams
| Great Britain | Australia | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Charlton | Fullback | Graeme Langlands (c) | 1 |
| 2 | Clive Sullivan (c) | Wing | Stephen Knight | 2 |
| 3 | Chris Hesketh | Centre | Geoff Starling | 3 |
| 4 | John Walsh | Centre | Ray Branighan | 4 |
| 5 | John Atkinson | Wing | Mark Harris | 5 |
| 6 | Dennis O'Neill | Stand off/Five eighth | Bob Fulton | 6 |
| 7 | Steve Nash | Scrum half/Half back | Tom Raudonikis | 7 |
| 8 | Terry Clawson | Prop forward | John O'Neill | 8 |
| 9 | Mike Stephenson | Hooker | Elwyn Walters | 9 |
| 10 | David Jeanes | Prop forward | Arthur Beetson | 10 |
| 11 | Brian Lockwood | Second row | Bob McCarthy | 11 |
| 12 | Phil Lowe | Second row | John Elford | 12 |
| 13 | George Nicholls | Loose forward/Lock forward | Gary Sullivan | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | John Holmes | Dennis Ward | 14 | |
| Paul Sait | 15 | |||
| Jim Challinor | Coach | Harry Bath | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Claude Teisseire (France) |
| Player of the match | — not identified in sources found |
Match report
Played at Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan, a high-scoring, attacking contest in which Great Britain led 17-12 at halftime before holding on to win 27-21. Great Britain's five tries came from wingers John Atkinson and Clive Sullivan, forwards Phil Lowe and Dennis O'Neill, and hooker Mike Stephenson, with prop Terry Clawson landing a faultless goal-kicking display.
For Australia, five-eighth Bob Fulton and halfback Tom Raudonikis were both among the try scorers, with captain and fullback Graeme Langlands kicking four goals. This was Great Britain's second pool win of the tournament, keeping the Lions on course for the final, which they would draw 10-10 with Australia at Lyon and win the title on pool placing.
Previous World Cup meetings
- 1954 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 13–28 Great Britain
- 1957 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 31–6 Great Britain
- 1960 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Great Britain 10–3 Australia
- 1968 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 25–10 Great Britain
- 1970 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Great Britain 11–4 Australia
- 1970 Rugby League World Cup (Final): Australia 12–7 Great Britain
- 1972 Rugby League World Cup (Final): Great Britain 10–10 Australia
- 1977 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 19–5 Great Britain
- 1977 Rugby League World Cup (Final): Australia 13–12 Great Britain
- 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Great Britain 15–24 Australia
- 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 12–26 Great Britain
- 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Great Britain 0–14 Australia
- 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 16–10 Great Britain
- 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (Final): Australia 10–6 Great Britain