Great Britain 6–6 New Zealand — World Cup Table, 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup
9 Nov 1985 · Elland Road, Leeds, England · Attendance: 22,209
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
World Cup Table, 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup: Great Britain 6–6 New Zealand, at Elland Road, Leeds, England on 9 Nov 1985.
Scorers
| Great Britain | Goals: Crooks (3) |
| New Zealand | Tries: Graham Goals: D. Sorensen |
Teams
| Great Britain | New Zealand | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mick Burke | Fullback | Gary Kemble | 1 |
| 2 | Des Drummond | Wing | Darrell Williams | 2 |
| 3 | Garry Schofield | Centre | Dean Bell | 3 |
| 4 | Shaun Edwards | Centre | James Leuluai | 4 |
| 5 | Joe Lydon | Wing | Dane O'Hara | 5 |
| 6 | Ellery Hanley | Stand off/Five eighth | Fred Ah Kuoi | 6 |
| 7 | Deryck Fox | Scrum half/Half back | Clayton Friend | 7 |
| 8 | Jeff Grayshon | Prop forward | Kevin Tamati | 8 |
| 9 | David Watkinson | Hooker | Wayne Wallace | 9 |
| 10 | John Fieldhouse | Prop forward | Dane Sorensen | 10 |
| 11 | Andy Goodway | Second row | Mark Graham (c) | 11 |
| 12 | Ian Potter | Second row | Kurt Sorensen | 12 |
| 13 | Harry Pinner (c) | Loose forward/Lock forward | Gary Prohm | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Lee Crooks | Olsen Filipaina | 14 | |
| 15 | Chris Arkwright | Hugh McGahan | 15 | |
| Maurice Bamford | Coach | Graham Lowe | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Barry Gomersall (Australia) |
| Player of the match | Lee Crooks (Great Britain) |
Match report
This fixture was simultaneously Game 2 of the 1985-88 World Cup pool stage and the third, deciding Test of New Zealand's 1985 tour of Great Britain. New Zealand dominated the first half and led 6-0 at the break, built from a try by captain Mark Graham converted by Dane Sorensen. Great Britain, under coach Maurice Bamford, could not break the Kiwi line but instead clawed the match back through the boot of prop Lee Crooks, who landed three penalty goals, the last in the final minute, to snatch a 6-6 draw and deny New Zealand a series win.
The match was notably feisty: a second-half brawl was serious enough that a policeman came onto the pitch to help restore order, with New Zealand prop Kurt Sorensen sin-binned twice and Great Britain forward Jeff Grayshon also sin-binned. Bamford afterwards praised the 'old-fashioned Test match' spice. The draw left the 1985 series level at one win apiece plus this draw.
Previous World Cup meetings
- 1954 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Great Britain 26–6 New Zealand
- 1957 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Great Britain 21–29 New Zealand
- 1960 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Great Britain 23–8 New Zealand
- 1968 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Great Britain 38–14 New Zealand
- 1970 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Great Britain 27–17 New Zealand
- 1972 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Great Britain 53–19 New Zealand
- 1977 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): New Zealand 12–30 Great Britain
- 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): New Zealand 12–10 Great Britain
- 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Great Britain 10–6 New Zealand
- 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): New Zealand 21–18 Great Britain