Australia 16–8 England — Final, 1995 Rugby League World Cup
28 Oct 1995 · Wembley Stadium, London, England · Attendance: 66,540Highest-attended match of the tournament
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Final, 1995 Rugby League World Cup: Australia 16–8 England, at Wembley Stadium, London, England on 28 Oct 1995.
Scoring timeline
| 7′ | Australia — try, Wishart |
Tries in order scored, with the conversion kicked/missed alongside each one where our source data lets us match a kicker to that specific try. Sources don't record exact minutes for missed kicks, so misses are matched by elimination (attempts left over once every made kick is accounted for), not sequenced by time. Standalone penalty goals are shown separately below, not attached to a try.
Scorers
| Australia | Tries: Wishart 7'; Brasher Goals: Johns (4/4) 7', 20' pen, 30' pen |
| England | Tries: Newlove Goals: Goulding (2/2) 2' pen, 18' pen |
Teams
| Australia | England | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tim Brasher | Fullback | Kris Radlinski | 1 |
| 2 | Rod Wishart | Wing | Jason Robinson | 2 |
| 3 | Mark Coyne | Centre | Gary Connolly | 3 |
| 4 | Terry Hill | Centre | Paul Newlove | 4 |
| 5 | Brett Dallas | Wing | Martin Offiah | 5 |
| 6 | Brad Fittler (c) | Stand off/Five eighth | Tony Smith | 6 |
| 7 | Geoff Toovey | Scrum half/Half back | Bobbie Goulding | 7 |
| 8 | Dean Pay | Prop forward | Karl Harrison | 8 |
| 9 | Andrew Johns | Hooker | Lee Jackson | 9 |
| 10 | Mark Carroll | Prop forward | Andy Platt | 10 |
| 11 | Steve Menzies | Second row | Denis Betts (c) | 11 |
| 12 | Gary Larson | Second row | Phil Clarke | 12 |
| 13 | Jim Dymock | Loose forward/Lock forward | Andy Farrell | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Jason Smith | Mick Cassidy | 14 | |
| Chris Joynt | 15 | |||
| Bob Fulton | Coach | Phil Larder | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Stuart Cummings (England) |
| Player of the match | Andrew Johns (Australia) |
Match report
This was the "Centenary" World Cup final, marking 100 years since the 1895 split that created rugby league, and doubled as revenge for Australia after England had beaten them in the tournament's opening group game at Wembley weeks earlier. The match was played against the backdrop of the Super League war — Australia's squad was drawn entirely from ARL-loyal players, excluding several high-profile 1994 Kangaroo tourists who had signed with Super League.
England took an early lead through a Bobbie Goulding penalty, but Rod Wishart's try and Andrew Johns' accurate boot (two penalty goals plus a conversion) gave Australia a 10-4 half-time lead. Paul Newlove's early-second-half try briefly closed the gap to two points, but Tim Brasher's late try, converted by Johns, sealed a 16-8 win.
Andrew Johns, only 21 and playing out of position at hooker, was named player of the match and the win secured Australia's eighth world title and fifth in a row.
Previous World Cup meetings
- 1975 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 10–10 England
- 1975 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): England 16–13 Australia
- 1975 Rugby League World Cup (Challenge Match): England 0–25 Australia
- 1995 Rugby League World Cup (Group A): England 20–16 Australia
- 2000 Rugby League World Cup (Group A): England 2–22 Australia
- 2008 Rugby League World Cup (Group A): Australia 52–4 England
- 2013 Rugby League World Cup (Group A): Australia 28–20 England
- 2017 Rugby League World Cup (Group A): Australia 18–4 England
- 2017 Rugby League World Cup (Final): Australia 6–0 England