Australia 19–5 Great Britain — World Cup Table, 1977 Rugby League World Cup
18 Jun 1977 · Lang Park, Brisbane, Australia · Attendance: 27,000Highest-attended match of the tournament
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
World Cup Table, 1977 Rugby League World Cup: Australia 19–5 Great Britain, at Lang Park, Brisbane, Australia on 18 Jun 1977.
Scorers
| Australia | Tries: Eadie (2); Randall Goals: Cronin (5) |
| Great Britain | Tries: Millward Goals: Fairbairn (1) |
Teams
| Australia | Great Britain | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Graham Eadie | Fullback | George Fairbairn | 1 |
| 2 | Allan McMahon | Wing | Stuart Wright | 2 |
| 3 | Michael Cronin | Centre | Bill Francis | 3 |
| 4 | Mark Thomas | Centre | Les Dyl | 4 |
| 5 | Terry Fahey | Wing | Keith Fielding | 5 |
| 6 | John Peard | Stand off/Five eighth | Roger Millward (c) | 6 |
| 7 | Tom Raudonikis | Scrum half/Half back | Steve Nash | 7 |
| 8 | Greg Veivers | Prop forward | Steve Pitchford | 8 |
| 9 | Nick Geiger | Hooker | David Ward | 9 |
| 10 | Denis Fitzgerald | Prop forward | Jimmy Thompson | 10 |
| 11 | Arthur Beetson (c) | Second row | George Nicholls | 11 |
| 12 | Terry Randall | Second row | Eddie Bowman | 12 |
| 13 | Greg Pierce | Loose forward/Lock forward | Phil Hogan | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Ray Higgs | John Holmes — bench number not confirmed | Interchange | |
| Peter Smith — bench number not confirmed | Interchange | |||
| Terry Fearnley | Coach | David Watkins | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Marcel Caillol (France) |
| Player of the match | Graham Eadie (Australia) |
Match report
Australia's final pool fixture, played at Lang Park, Brisbane, before a 27,000 crowd -- more than the Final itself would draw a week later. Australia, unbeaten through the pool phase, defeated Great Britain 19-5, serving as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup Final, which the two sides would contest again exactly a week later at the SCG. Fullback Graham Eadie was the standout, scoring two tries and being named player of the match.
Great Britain's response came via captain Roger Millward, who scored their only try, with George Fairbairn kicking the solitary goal. The match was refereed by Frenchman Marcel Caillol, consistent with the tournament's practice of using officials from the non-participating fourth nation for matches between the other three.
Sourcing caveat: Under this era's 3-point try scoring, both totals reconcile exactly (Australia: 3 tries + 5 goals = 19; Great Britain: 1 try + 1 goal = 5), with no field goal needed.
Previous World Cup meetings
- 1954 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 13–28 Great Britain
- 1957 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 31–6 Great Britain
- 1960 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Great Britain 10–3 Australia
- 1968 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 25–10 Great Britain
- 1970 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Great Britain 11–4 Australia
- 1970 Rugby League World Cup (Final): Australia 12–7 Great Britain
- 1972 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Great Britain 27–21 Australia
- 1972 Rugby League World Cup (Final): Great Britain 10–10 Australia
- 1977 Rugby League World Cup (Final): Australia 13–12 Great Britain
- 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Great Britain 15–24 Australia
- 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 12–26 Great Britain
- 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Great Britain 0–14 Australia
- 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 16–10 Great Britain
- 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (Final): Australia 10–6 Great Britain