1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup — Matches & Results

Every group-stage and knockout match from the 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup, with full group standings computed from the individual results.

Data last verified: 11 August 2026.

1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup ▾

1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup — full match archive: all 18 matches across the group stage and knockout rounds, with group standings computed directly from the individual results below.

Jump to stage:

Groups

World Cup Table

Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	Diff	Pts	Form
Australia	7	5	0	2	252	91	+161	10	WLW
Great Britain	8	4	2	2	203	90	+113	10	WWL
New Zealand	7	4	1	2	158	86	+72	9	LWW
France	5	1	1	3	35	140	-105	3	LLW
Papua New Guinea	7	1	0	6	84	325	-241	2	LLL

Date	Result	Venue	Attendance
7 Jul 1985	New Zealand 18–0 Australia	Carlaw Park, Auckland, New Zealand	15,327
9 Nov 1985	Great Britain 6–6 New Zealand	Elland Road, Leeds, England	22,209
7 Dec 1985	France 0–22 New Zealand	Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan, France	5,000
16 Feb 1986	France 10–10 Great Britain	Parc des Sports, Avignon, France	4,000
29 Jul 1986	Australia 32–12 New Zealand	Lang Park, Brisbane, Australia	22,811
17 Aug 1986	Papua New Guinea 24–22 New Zealand	Lloyd Robson Oval, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea	15,000
4 Oct 1986	Papua New Guinea 12–62 Australia	Lloyd Robson Oval, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea	17,000
22 Nov 1986	Great Britain 15–24 Australia	Central Park, Wigan, England	20,169
13 Dec 1986	France 0–52 Australia	Stade d'Albert Domec, Carcassonne, France	5,000
24 Jan 1987	Great Britain 52–4 France	Headingley, Leeds, England	6,567
24 Oct 1987	Great Britain 42–0 Papua New Guinea	Central Park, Wigan, England	9,121
15 Nov 1987	France 21–4 Papua New Guinea	Stade d'Albert Domec, Carcassonne, France	5,000
22 May 1988	Papua New Guinea 22–42 Great Britain	Lloyd Robson Oval, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea	12,107
9 Jul 1988	Australia 12–26 Great Britain	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, Australia	15,944
10 Jul 1988	New Zealand 66–14 Papua New Guinea	Carlaw Park, Auckland, New Zealand	8,392
17 Jul 1988	New Zealand 12–10 Great Britain	Addington Showground, Christchurch, New Zealand	8,525
20 Jul 1988	Australia 70–8 Papua New Guinea	Eric Weissel Oval, Wagga Wagga, Australia	11,685

Knockout stage

Final

Date	Result	Venue	Attendance
9 Oct 1988	Australia 25–12 New Zealand	Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand	47,363

Sources

← 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup

← All World Cups

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