New Zealand 13–8 Wales — World Cup Table, 1975 Rugby League World Cup
28 Jun 1975 · Carlaw Park, Auckland, New Zealand · Attendance: 9,368
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
World Cup Table, 1975 Rugby League World Cup: New Zealand 13–8 Wales, at Carlaw Park, Auckland, New Zealand on 28 Jun 1975.
Scorers
| New Zealand | Tries: Orchard Goals: Collicoat (5/9) |
| Wales | Tries: Francis; Mills Goals: Watkins (1/1) |
Teams
| New Zealand | Wales | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warren Collicoat | Fullback | Bill Francis | 1 |
| 2 | Phil Orchard | Wing | Roy Mathias | 2 |
| 3 | John O'Sullivan | Centre | David Willicombe | 3 |
| 4 | Dennis Williams | Centre | David Watkins (c) | 4 |
| 5 | Don Munro | Wing | Clive Sullivan | 5 |
| 6 | Robert Jarvis | Stand off/Five eighth | David Treasure | 6 |
| 7 | Ken Stirling (c) | Scrum half/Half back | Peter Banner | 7 |
| 8 | Lyndsay Proctor | Prop forward | Jim Mills | 8 |
| 9 | Tom Conroy | Hooker | Tony Fisher | 9 |
| 10 | Dane Sorensen | Prop forward | Robert Wanbon | 10 |
| 11 | Tony Coll | Second row | John Mantle | 11 |
| 12 | Ray Baxendale | Second row | Colin Dixon | 12 |
| 13 | Murray Eade | Loose forward/Lock forward — sent off during the match | Kel Coslett | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| Brian Butler — not confirmed to have played | 15 | |||
| George Menzies | Coach | Les Pearce | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Laurie Bruyeres |
| Player of the match | — not identified in sources found |
Match report
New Zealand hosted Wales at Carlaw Park, Auckland, in front of 9,368. New Zealand led 8-3 at halftime and held on to win 13-8. Wales won more ball at the scrum (18 to New Zealand's 12), but New Zealand were the more disciplined and clinical side, conceding fewer penalties and converting chances more efficiently through the boot.
New Zealand winger Phil Orchard scored the only try of the match for the home side, with Warren Collicoat kicking five goals to provide the bulk of New Zealand's points. Wales scored two tries, through fullback Bill Francis and prop Jim Mills, with captain David Watkins landing one goal. A notable incident was the sending-off of New Zealand lock Murray Eade during the match.
Sourcing caveat: New Zealand's bench is not identified in sources found for this fixture.
Previous World Cup meetings
- 1975 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Wales 25–24 New Zealand
- 2000 Rugby League World Cup (Group B): Wales 18–58 New Zealand