Australia 12–26 Great Britain — World Cup Table, 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup
9 Jul 1988 · Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, Australia · Attendance: 15,944
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
World Cup Table, 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup: Australia 12–26 Great Britain, at Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, Australia on 9 Jul 1988.
Scorers
| Australia | Tries: Backo (2) Goals: O'Connor (2) |
| Great Britain | Tries: Gill (2); Offiah; Ford; M. Gregory Goals: Loughlin (3/5) |
Teams
| Australia | Great Britain | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Garry Jack | Fullback | Phil Ford | 1 |
| 2 | Andrew Ettingshausen | Wing | Henderson Gill | 2 |
| 3 | Michael O'Connor | Centre | David Stephenson | 3 |
| 4 | Peter Jackson | Centre | Paul Loughlin | 4 |
| 5 | Tony Currie | Wing | Martin Offiah | 5 |
| 6 | Wally Lewis (c) | Stand off/Five eighth | David Hulme | 6 |
| 7 | Peter Sterling | Scrum half/Half back | Andy Gregory | 7 |
| 8 | Martin Bella | Prop forward | Kevin Ward | 8 |
| 9 | Greg Conescu | Hooker | Paul Hulme | 9 |
| 10 | Sam Backo | Prop forward | Hugh Waddell | 10 |
| 11 | Wally Fullerton-Smith | Second row | Mike Gregory | 11 |
| 12 | Paul Vautin | Second row | Roy Powell | 12 |
| 13 | Wayne Pearce | Loose forward/Lock forward | Ellery Hanley (c) | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Gary Belcher | Brian Case | 14 | |
| 15 | Bob Lindner | |||
| Don Furner | Coach | Mal Reilly | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Francis Desplas (France) |
| Touch judges | Barry Bolton, Vince Smith |
| Player of the match | Andy Gregory (Great Britain) |
Match report
The third and final Ashes Test of Great Britain's 1988 tour of Australia, a dead rubber after Australia had already retained the Ashes -- but it doubled as a crucial World Cup group-table fixture. Great Britain produced one of the most celebrated upsets in the sport's history. Scrum-half Andy Gregory was outstanding and named player of the match; Britain raced to a 10-0 halftime lead built on tries from Martin Offiah and fullback Phil Ford. Australia hit back through prop Sam Backo (2), but Britain pulled away again, with winger Henderson Gill scoring twice -- his second prompting a spontaneous touchline celebration that became part of Rugby League folklore.
Mike Gregory added a fifth British try. The 26-12 final score gave Great Britain their first Test win over Australia since 1978 and snapped a 15-match Australian winning streak, briefly putting Great Britain top of the World Cup points table, though Australia's results elsewhere ultimately saw them finish top of the group.
Sourcing caveat: RLP's numbering places David Stephenson and Paul Loughlin at #3/#4 in a way that conflicts with the official match programme (which had them reversed) -- the programme's numbering has been noted here for completeness. Great Britain's bench is only confirmed to have had one further player named in sources found.
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 (World Cup Table): Australia 19–5 Great Britain
- 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
- 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