New Zealand 22–6 Papua New Guinea — Group B, 1995 Rugby League World Cup
13 Oct 1995 · Knowsley Road, St Helens, England · Attendance: 8,679
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Group B, 1995 Rugby League World Cup: New Zealand 22–6 Papua New Guinea, at Knowsley Road, St Helens, England on 13 Oct 1995.
Scorers
| New Zealand | Tries: Blackmore; Hoppe; Ridge Goals: Ridge (4 or 5 — exact figure not reconciled in sources found) |
| Papua New Guinea | Tries: Bai Goals: Paiyo (1) |
Teams
| New Zealand | Papua New Guinea | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matthew Ridge (c) | Fullback | David Buko | 1 |
| 2 | Sean Hoppe | Wing | James Kops | 2 |
| 3 | Richie Blackmore | Centre | David Gomia | 3 |
| 4 | Ruben Wiki | Centre | John Okul | 4 |
| 5 | Jason Williams | Wing | Gideon Kouoru | 5 |
| 6 | Henry Paul | Stand off/Five eighth | Stanley Gene | 6 |
| 7 | Stacey Jones | Scrum half/Half back | Adrian Lam (c) | 7 |
| 8 | Quentin Pongia | Prop forward | Nande Yer | 8 |
| 9 | Gary Freeman | Hooker | Elias Paiyo | 9 |
| 10 | Jason Lowrie | Prop forward | David Westley | 10 |
| 11 | Stephen Kearney | Second row | Max Tiri | 11 |
| 12 | Mark Horo | Second row | Michael Angara | 12 |
| 13 | Tony Kemp | Loose forward/Lock forward | Bruce Mamando | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Gene Ngamu | Lucas Solbat | 14 | |
| 15 | Hitro Okesene | Marcus Bai | 15 | |
| 16 | Kevin Iro | Ben Biri | 16 | |
| 17 | Tony Iro | |||
| Frank Endacott | Coach | Joe Tokam | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Stuart Cummings (Widnes) |
| Touch judges | Not identified in sources found |
| Player of the match | Not identified in sources found |
Match report
New Zealand beat Papua New Guinea 22-6 at Knowsley Road, St Helens, leading 16-2 at half-time to finish top of Group B. Regular hooker Syd Eru was unavailable, with Gary Freeman playing his reported 45th and final test in his place. New Zealand's exact goal count (4 vs. 5) could not be reconciled in sources found — shown as flagged.
Previous World Cup meetings
- 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Papua New Guinea 24–22 New Zealand
- 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): New Zealand 66–14 Papua New Guinea
- 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Papua New Guinea 10–18 New Zealand
- 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): New Zealand 66–10 Papua New Guinea
- 2008 Rugby League World Cup (Group A): New Zealand 48–6 Papua New Guinea
- 2013 Rugby League World Cup (Group B): New Zealand 56–10 Papua New Guinea