1977 Rugby League World Cup
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
1977 Rugby League World Cup result: Australia won the title, beating Great Britain 13–12 in the final. Hosted by Australia & New Zealand.
Full match archive (7 games)
Groups
World Cup Table
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff | Pts | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 26 | +41 | 6 | WWW |
| Great Britain | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 58 | 35 | +23 | 4 | WWL |
| New Zealand | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 52 | 77 | -25 | 2 | LLW |
| France | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 33 | 72 | -39 | 0 | LLL |
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 May 1977 | New Zealand 12–27 Australia | Carlaw Park, Auckland, New Zealand | 18,000 |
| 5 Jun 1977 | France 4–23 Great Britain | Carlaw Park, Auckland, New Zealand | 10,000 |
| 11 Jun 1977 | Australia 21–9 France | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia | 13,231 |
| 12 Jun 1977 | New Zealand 12–30 Great Britain | Addington Showground, Christchurch, New Zealand | 9,000 |
| 18 Jun 1977 | Australia 19–5 Great Britain | Lang Park, Brisbane, Australia | 27,000 |
| 19 Jun 1977 | New Zealand 28–20 France | Carlaw Park, Auckland, New Zealand | 8,000 |
Knockout stage
Final
| Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Jun 1977 | Australia 13–12 Great Britain | Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Australia | 24,457 |
Tournament facts
| Host | Australia & New Zealand |
| Dates | 29 May – 25 June 1977 |
| Teams | 4 |
| Games played | 7 |
| Players used | 76 |
| Average crowd | 15,384 |
Teams (4)
Context
Matches at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Lang Park (Brisbane), Carlaw Park (Auckland) and Addington Showgrounds (Christchurch).
Australia won a fifth World Cup title, edging out Great Britain 13-12 in a tight final at the Sydney Cricket Ground after having thrashed the same opponent 19-5 in an earlier pool match. Great Britain, led by veteran captain Roger Millward, dominated territory and possession for long stretches and were denied a near-certain try by a controversial refereeing call, but a last-minute try from Australian halfback John Kolc — the only international appearance of his career — sealed the win for the hosts. It was the last World Cup played as a simple single-tournament round-robin-plus-final before the code experimented, for the next two editions, with spreading the competition across years of ordinary Test fixtures instead. The disallowed try that so angered Great Britain came from winger Stuart Wright, who appeared to have scored in the first half only for English referee Billy Thompson to call play back for an earlier obstruction rather than allow advantage — replays suggested a try there would have put Great Britain 12-8 up at the break. The 24,457-strong final crowd was, oddly, smaller than the pool match staged in Brisbane the week before, which drew a couple of thousand more. The match remains frequently cited by historians as one of the closest and most fiercely contested finals the World Cup has ever produced, decided by a single fine margin rather than any real gap in quality between the two sides.
Sources
← 1975 Rugby League World Cup1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup →
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