New Zealand 12–10 Great Britain — World Cup Table, 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup
17 Jul 1988 · Addington Showground, Christchurch, New Zealand · Attendance: 8,525
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
World Cup Table, 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup: New Zealand 12–10 Great Britain, at Addington Showground, Christchurch, New Zealand on 17 Jul 1988.
Scorers
| New Zealand | Tries: Freeman (2) Goals: Brown (2/4) |
| Great Britain | Tries: Hulme; Loughlin Goals: Loughlin (1/3); Stephenson (0/1) |
Teams
| New Zealand | Great Britain | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darrell Williams | Fullback | Phil Ford | 1 |
| 2 | Shane Horo | Wing | Henderson Gill | 2 |
| 3 | Dean Bell (c) | Centre | David Stephenson | 3 |
| 4 | Kevin Iro | Centre | Paul Loughlin | 4 |
| 5 | Gary Mercer | Wing | Martin Offiah | 5 |
| 6 | Shane Cooper | Stand off/Five eighth | David Hulme | 6 |
| 7 | Clayton Friend | Scrum half/Half back | Andy Gregory | 7 |
| 8 | Peter Brown | Prop forward | Kevin Ward | 8 |
| 9 | Wayne Wallace | Hooker | Kevin Beardmore | 9 |
| 10 | Adrian Shelford | Prop forward | Hugh Waddell | 10 |
| 11 | Mark Graham | Second row | Mike Gregory | 11 |
| 12 | Sam Stewart | Second row | Roy Powell | 12 |
| 13 | Mark Horo | Loose forward/Lock forward | Ellery Hanley (c) | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Gary Freeman — per RLP, only bench player shown; full bench not fully listed in sources found | Paul Hulme — per RLP, only bench player shown; #14 not identified in sources found | 15 | |
| Tony Gordon | Coach | Mal Reilly | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Mick Stone (Australia) |
| Player of the match | — not identified in sources found |
Match report
A sudden-death shootout for the final World Cup place: Great Britain held a slender one-point lead in the standings and only needed a draw to progress, while New Zealand had to win outright. Played in wet, muddy conditions at Addington Showground, Great Britain scored an early try through centre Paul Loughlin. New Zealand responded strongly through scrum-half Gary Freeman, who scored both of the Kiwis' tries, supplemented by two Peter Brown goals, giving the hosts a 12-8 halftime lead.
Great Britain hit back through a try from stand-off David Hulme but could not find another score, missing several kicking opportunities. New Zealand held on 12-10, denying Great Britain a place in the final and instead sending New Zealand through to face Australia at Eden Park (lost 25-12). Great Britain captain Ellery Hanley suffered a cut under his eye requiring 12 stitches.
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): Great Britain 6–6 New Zealand
- 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