New Zealand 17–17 England — World Cup Table, 1975 Rugby League World Cup
21 Jun 1975 · Carlaw Park, Auckland, New Zealand · Attendance: 12,000
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
World Cup Table, 1975 Rugby League World Cup: New Zealand 17–17 England, at Carlaw Park, Auckland, New Zealand on 21 Jun 1975.
Scorers
| New Zealand | Tries: Williams (2); — not identified in sources found (a further try is required to reconcile with the 17-point total under this era's 3-point try scoring) Goals: D. Sorensen (4) |
| England | Tries: Fairbairn (2); — not identified in sources found (a further try is required to reconcile with the 17-point total under this era's 3-point try scoring) Goals: Fairbairn (4) |
Teams
| New Zealand | England | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Whittaker | Fullback | George Fairbairn | 1 |
| 2 | Phil Orchard | Wing | Keith Fielding | 2 |
| 3 | John O'Sullivan | Centre | John Walsh | 3 |
| 4 | Dennis Williams | Centre | Les Dyl | 4 |
| 5 | Don Munro | Wing | John Atkinson | 5 |
| 6 | Robert Jarvis | Stand off/Five eighth | Ken Gill | 6 |
| 7 | Ken Stirling (c) | Scrum half/Half back | Steve Nash | 7 |
| 8 | John Greengrass | Prop forward | Dave Chisnall | 8 |
| 9 | Tom Conroy | Hooker | John Bridges | 9 |
| 10 | Dane Sorensen | Prop forward | Eric Chisnall | 10 |
| 11 | Tony Coll | Second row | George Nicholls | 11 |
| 12 | Ray Baxendale | Second row | Phil Cookson | 12 |
| 13 | Murray Eade | Loose forward/Lock forward | Steve Norton | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Warren Collicoat | Mick Morgan | 14 | |
| 15 | Lyndsay Proctor | |||
| George Menzies | Coach | Alex Murphy | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Laurie Bruyeres |
| Player of the match | — not identified in sources found |
Match report
Played at Carlaw Park, Auckland, this match ended in a 17-17 draw, with New Zealand holding a narrow 10-9 lead at halftime before England fought back to level the scores. New Zealand centre Dennis Williams and England fullback George Fairbairn each scored two tries; Fairbairn also landed 4 goals, doing the bulk of England's scoring, while prop Dane Sorensen kicked 4 goals for New Zealand.
England made several late lineup alterations ahead of kickoff, with John Bridges coming into the hooker role and George Nicholls and Phil Cookson into the second row, while Eric Chisnall switched from second row to prop. New Zealand made no changes to their originally selected side. New Zealand won the penalty count 13-10 but lost the scrum count 9-12.
Sourcing caveat: Both teams' scoresheets as recorded fall one try short of the 17-point total under this era's 3-point try scoring; the additional scorer(s) for each side are not identified in sources found.
Previous World Cup meetings
- 1975 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): England 27–12 New Zealand
- 2000 Rugby League World Cup (Semi-final): New Zealand 49–6 England
- 2008 Rugby League World Cup (Group A): England 24–36 New Zealand
- 2008 Rugby League World Cup (Semi-final): New Zealand 32–22 England
- 2013 Rugby League World Cup (Semi-final): New Zealand 20–18 England