Australia 40–12 New Zealand — Final, 2000 Rugby League World Cup
25 Nov 2000 · Old Trafford, Manchester, England · Attendance: 44,329Highest-attended match of the tournament
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Final, 2000 Rugby League World Cup: Australia 40–12 New Zealand, at Old Trafford, Manchester, England on 25 Nov 2000.
Scoring timeline
| 26′ | Australia — try, Gidley |
| 49′ | New Zealand — try, Vainikolo |
| 63′ | Australia — try, Sailor |
| 68′ | Australia — try, Sailor |
| 73′ | Australia — try, Fittler |
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: Gidley 26'; Hindmarsh; Lockyer; Sailor (2) 63', 68'; Fittler 73'; Barrett Goals: Rogers (6/7) 26', 68', 73' |
| New Zealand | Tries: Vainikolo 49'; Carroll Goals: Paul (2/2) 49' |
Teams
| Australia | New Zealand | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Darren Lockyer | Fullback | Richie Barnett (c) | 1 |
| 2 | Wendell Sailor | Wing | Nigel Vagana | 2 |
| 3 | Matthew Gidley | Centre | Tonie Carroll | 3 |
| 4 | Adam MacDougall | Centre | Willie Talau | 4 |
| 5 | Mat Rogers | Wing | Lesley Vainikolo | 5 |
| 6 | Brad Fittler (c) | Stand off/Five eighth | Henry Paul | 6 |
| 7 | Brett Kimmorley | Scrum half/Half back | Stacey Jones | 7 |
| 8 | Shane Webcke | Prop forward | Craig Smith | 8 |
| 9 | Andrew Johns | Hooker | Richard Swain | 9 |
| 10 | Robbie Kearns | Prop forward | Quentin Pongia | 10 |
| 11 | Gorden Tallis | Second row | Matt Rua | 11 |
| 12 | Bryan Fletcher | Second row | Stephen Kearney | 12 |
| 13 | Scott Hill | Loose forward/Lock forward | Ruben Wiki | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Trent Barrett | Robbie Paul | 14 | |
| 15 | Nathan Hindmarsh | Joe Vagana | 15 | |
| 16 | Darren Britt | Nathan Cayless | 16 | |
| 17 | Jason Stevens | Logan Swann | 17 | |
| Chris Anderson | Coach | Frank Endacott | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Stuart Cummings (England) |
| Player of the match | Wendell Sailor (Australia) — single-sourced, not independently confirmed by a second outlet |
Match report
Australia dominated territory and possession from kickoff, with an early Wendell Sailor try controversially disallowed by the video referee. Matt Gidley opened the scoring from a Sailor grubber kick, and Mat Rogers' conversion made it 6-0 at halftime — a surprisingly close margin given Australia's pressure.
New Zealand, playing in just their second World Cup final, stayed competitive into the second half: after Nathan Hindmarsh extended the lead to 12-0, Lesley Vainikolo and then Tonie Carroll scored either side of a Darren Lockyer try to bring New Zealand within 18-12 with roughly a quarter of the match remaining.
From there Australia's superior fitness and depth took over. Wendell Sailor scored twice in a five-minute burst either side of the hour mark, and further tries to captain Brad Fittler and substitute Trent Barrett sealed a 40-12 win — Australia's sixth consecutive World Cup title. New Zealand's Stephen Kearney played his 36th Test in the match, then a national record for a forward.
Previous World Cup meetings
- 1954 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 34–15 New Zealand
- 1957 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 25–5 New Zealand
- 1960 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 21–15 New Zealand
- 1968 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 31–12 New Zealand
- 1970 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 47–11 New Zealand
- 1972 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 9–5 New Zealand
- 1975 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 36–8 New Zealand
- 1975 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): New Zealand 8–24 Australia
- 1977 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): New Zealand 12–27 Australia
- 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): New Zealand 18–0 Australia
- 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 32–12 New Zealand
- 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup (Final): Australia 25–12 New Zealand
- 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): New Zealand 14–22 Australia
- 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup (World Cup Table): Australia 40–12 New Zealand
- 1995 Rugby League World Cup (Semi-final): Australia 30–20 New Zealand
- 2008 Rugby League World Cup (Group A): Australia 30–6 New Zealand
- 2008 Rugby League World Cup (Final): New Zealand 34–20 Australia
- 2013 Rugby League World Cup (Final): Australia 34–2 New Zealand
- 2021 Rugby League World Cup (Semi-final): Australia 16–14 New Zealand