Great Britain 15–24 Australia — World Cup Table, 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup
22 Nov 1986 · Central Park, Wigan, England · Attendance: 20,169
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
World Cup Table, 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup: Great Britain 15–24 Australia, at Central Park, Wigan, England on 22 Nov 1986.
Scorers
| Great Britain | Tries: Schofield (2) Goals: Lydon (2/3); Gill (1/1) Drop goals: Schofield |
| Australia | Tries: Miles; Lindner; Lewis; Shearer (penalty try) Goals: O'Connor (4/5) |
Teams
| Great Britain | Australia | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe Lydon | Fullback | Garry Jack | 1 |
| 2 | Henderson Gill | Wing | Michael O'Connor | 2 |
| 3 | Garry Schofield | Centre | Brett Kenny | 3 |
| 4 | David Stephenson | Centre | Gene Miles | 4 |
| 5 | John Basnett | Wing | Dale Shearer | 5 |
| 6 | Tony Myler | Stand off/Five eighth | Wally Lewis (c) | 6 |
| 7 | Andy Gregory | Scrum half/Half back | Peter Sterling | 7 |
| 8 | Kevin Ward | Prop forward | Greg Dowling | 8 |
| 9 | David Watkinson (c) | Hooker | Royce Simmons | 9 |
| 10 | Lee Crooks | Prop forward | Paul Dunn | 10 |
| 11 | Chris Burton | Second row | Mal Meninga | 11 |
| 12 | Andy Goodway | Second row | Bryan Niebling | 12 |
| 13 | Harry Pinner | Loose forward/Lock forward | Bob Lindner | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Ian Potter | Terry Lamb | 14 | |
| Les Davidson | 15 | |||
| Maurice Bamford | Coach | Don Furner | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Julien Rascagnères (France) |
| Player of the match | Paul Dunn (Australia) |
Match report
The third and final Test of the 1986 Kangaroo tour, part of the 'Unbeatables' campaign built around Wally Lewis, Peter Sterling, Mal Meninga and Garry Jack. Australia had already won the Ashes series, so it was a dead rubber, but Great Britain produced their best performance of the series. Australia raced into a 12-0 lead through tries from Gene Miles and Bob Lindner, but Great Britain hit back to trail only 6-12 at halftime. Garry Schofield was the home side's standout, scoring twice and also landing a field goal.
The match turned on a contentious call from referee Julien Rascagnères, who awarded Australia a penalty try (credited to Dale Shearer) after John Basnett was judged to have tackled Shearer off the ball. Trailing by just three points late on, Great Britain could not close it out, and Wally Lewis settled the contest with a solo try to extend the final margin to 24-15.
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): 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