England 0–25 Australia — Challenge Match, 1975 Rugby League World Cup

12 Nov 1975 · Headingley, Leeds, England · Attendance: 7,680

Data last verified: 11 August 2026.

1975 Rugby League World Cup ▾

Challenge Match, 1975 Rugby League World Cup: England 0–25 Australia, at Headingley, Leeds, England on 12 Nov 1975.

Scorers

EnglandNo scorers recorded.
AustraliaTries: Lang; Cronin; Peard; Randall; — not identified in sources found (a fifth try is required to reconcile with the 25-point total under this era's 3-point try scoring; RLP names only these four scorers)
Goals: Eadie (5)

Teams

EnglandAustralia
1Ray DuttonFullbackGraham Eadie1
2David SmithWingJohnny Rhodes2
3Nigel StephensonCentreMichael Cronin3
4Eric HughesCentreSteve Rogers4
5Ged DunnWingIan Schubert5
6Ken GillStand off/Five eighthJohn Peard6
7Roger Millward (c)Scrum half/Half back — sent off after 7 minutesTom Raudonikis7
8Harry BeverleyProp forwardArthur Beetson (c)8
9Keith BridgesHookerJohn Lang9
10Jimmy ThompsonProp forwardGreg Veivers10
11Jeff GrayshonSecond rowRay Higgs11
12Mick AdamsSecond rowTerry Randall12
13Stan FearnleyLoose forward/Lock forwardGreg Pierce13
Substitutes
14David EckersleyIan Porter — non-playing reserveInterchange
15Charlie StoneGrahame Mackay — non-playing reserveInterchange
Alex MurphyCoachGraeme Langlands

Match officials

RefereeFred Lindop (England)
Player of the matchGraham Eadie (Australia)

Match report

The 1975 tournament (branded the World Championship Series) was decided purely on final table points rather than a knockout final. When the series concluded, Australia topped the table with 13 points to England's 12 -- a margin of just one point. Crucially, Australia had never actually beaten England head-to-head during the tournament: the two sides had drawn 10-10 in Sydney, and England then beat Australia 16-13 at home in the tournament's closing round. This left Australia officially champions on points but without a win over their closest rival, fuelling public doubt about whether they were 'worthy' world champions.

Australia requested a one-off decider on the grounds that they had failed to beat England throughout the tournament. The result was this hastily arranged extra 'Challenge Match', staged at Headingley, Leeds, only 11 days after the two sides' round-robin meeting -- not officially a World Cup Final, since Australia were already confirmed champions, but a prestige decider to settle the argument on the field. The match was ill-tempered from the start: England captain Roger Millward and Australia's Tom Raudonikis were both sent off after just seven minutes, reducing both sides to 13 men for the remainder of the game. Australia led 8-0 at halftime and pulled away in the second half to win comfortably, with fullback Graham Eadie the outstanding performer, converting throughout and being named man of the match. The 7,680 crowd was well down on the attendance for the 1970 World Cup final held at the same ground.

Sourcing caveat: Both captains, Roger Millward and Tom Raudonikis, were sent off after seven minutes. Australia's four named try scorers plus five goals total only 22 of the 25 points under this era's 3-point try scoring; the scorer of the remaining try is not identified in sources found.

Previous World Cup meetings

Sources

← 1975 Rugby League World Cup — full match archive

← 1975 Rugby League World Cup