England 16–13 Australia — World Cup Table, 1975 Rugby League World Cup
1 Nov 1975 · Central Park, Wigan, England · Attendance: 9,353
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
World Cup Table, 1975 Rugby League World Cup: England 16–13 Australia, at Central Park, Wigan, England on 1 Nov 1975.
Scorers
| England | Tries: Grayshon; Holmes Goals: Fairbairn (5/5) |
| Australia | Tries: Schubert (3) Goals: Cronin (2) |
Teams
| England | Australia | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Fairbairn | Fullback | Graham Eadie | 1 |
| 2 | Ged Dunn | Wing | Johnny Rhodes | 2 |
| 3 | John Holmes | Centre | Michael Cronin | 3 |
| 4 | Les Dyl | Centre | John Brass | 4 |
| 5 | David Redfearn | Wing | Ian Schubert | 5 |
| 6 | Ken Gill | Stand off/Five eighth | John Peard | 6 |
| 7 | Roger Millward (c) | Scrum half/Half back | Johnny Mayes | 7 |
| 8 | Brian Hogan | Prop forward | Arthur Beetson (c) | 8 |
| 9 | John Bridges | Hooker | George Piggins | 9 |
| 10 | Jimmy Thompson | Prop forward | Ian Mackay | 10 |
| 11 | Jeff Grayshon | Second row | Ray Higgs | 11 |
| 12 | Bob Irving | Second row | Terry Randall | 12 |
| 13 | Steve Norton | Loose forward/Lock forward | Greg Pierce | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Eric Hughes — replaced David Redfearn at halftime | Steve Rogers — replaced John Peard (68') | 14 | |
| 15 | Mick Adams — replaced John Bridges near fulltime | |||
| Alex Murphy | Coach | Graeme Langlands | ||
Match officials
| Referee | John Percival (New Zealand) |
| Player of the match | Roger Millward (England) |
Match report
Played at Central Park, Wigan. This was not the tournament decider — Australia had already secured the title on points before this game, with a separate, non-championship challenge match to follow afterward at Headingley. England, coached by Alex Murphy and captained by Roger Millward, won 16-13, leading 12-8 at halftime and dominating set-piece and territory. Millward was named player of the match.
Australia, captained by Arthur Beetson and featuring a young Michael Cronin and teenage sensation Ian Schubert, fought back via a Schubert hat-trick of tries, but England's superior goal-kicking from George Fairbairn (5 from 5) proved decisive.
Previous World Cup meetings
- 1975 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 10–10 England
- 1975 Rugby League World Cup (Challenge Match): England 0–25 Australia
- 1995 Rugby League World Cup (Group A): England 20–16 Australia
- 1995 Rugby League World Cup (Final): Australia 16–8 England
- 2000 Rugby League World Cup (Group A): England 2–22 Australia
- 2008 Rugby League World Cup (Group A): Australia 52–4 England
- 2013 Rugby League World Cup (Group A): Australia 28–20 England
- 2017 Rugby League World Cup (Group A): Australia 18–4 England
- 2017 Rugby League World Cup (Final): Australia 6–0 England