Rugby League World Cup records
Rugby League World Cup records have been accumulating since the first Rugby League World Cup tournament was held in 1954.
Team Records
All-time record
| Team | Champions | Runners-up | Third / Fourth / Losing Semi-finalists |
|---|---|---|---|
 Australia
|
12 (1957, 1968, 1970, 1975, 1977, 1988, 1992, 1995, 2000, 2013, 2017, 2021) | 3 (1960, 1972, 2008) | 1 (1954) |
 Great Britain
|
3 (1954, 1960, 1972) | 4 (1964, 1970, 1977, 1992) | 2 (1968, 1988) |
 New Zealand
|
1 (2008) | 3 (1985–88, 2000, 2013) | 11 (1954, 1957, 1960, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1977, 1992, 1995, 2021) |
 England
|
3 (1975, 1995, 2017) | 4 (2000, 2008, 2013, 2021) | |
 France
|
2 (1954, 1968) | 6 (1957, 1960, 1970, 1972, 1977, 1992) | |
 Samoa
|
1 (2021) |
||
 Wales
|
3 (1975, 1995, 2000) | ||
 Fiji
|
3 (2008, 2013, 2017) | ||
 Papua New Guinea
|
1 (1988) | ||
 Tonga
|
1 (2017) |
- Tournaments between 1954–1992 did not feature semi-final and quarter-final rounds.
Title win rate
| Team | Win rate |
|---|---|
| Australia
|
75.00% |
| Great Britain
|
33.33% |
| New Zealand
|
6.67% |
Biggest wins
| Rank | Winner | Score | Loser | Points | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia |
110-4 |  Russia |
106 | 2000 |
| 2 | England |
94-4 |  Greece |
90 | 2021 |
| 3 | Australia |
84-0 |  Scotland |
84 | 2021 |
| 4 | Tonga |
92-10 |  Cook Islands |
82 | 2021 |
| 5 | Australia |
86-6 |  South Africa |
80 | 1995 |
Individual records
Most appearances
| Rank | Player | Country(s) | Years | Apps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kurt Sorensen | New Zealand
|
1975–1989 | 25 |
| 2 | John Atkinson | Great Britain England
|
1970–1980 | 17 |
| Bob Fulton | Australia
|
1968–1978 | ||
| Cameron Smith | Australia
|
2008–2017 | ||
| 5 | Mal Meninga | Australia
|
1982–1994 | 15 |
| Michael O'Connor | Australia
|
1985–1990 | ||
| Chris Hill | England
|
2013- |
Top try scorers
| Rank | Player | Country(s) | Years | Tries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Billy Slater | Australia
|
2008–2017 | 16 |
| 2 | Jarryd Hayne | Australia Fiji
|
2008–2017 | 14 |
| Ryan Hall | England
|
2013– | ||
| 4 | Bob Fulton | Australia
|
1968–1975 | 13 |
| Valentine Holmes | Australia
|
2017– |
Top points scorers
| Rank | Player | Country(s) | Years | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johnathan Thurston | Australia
|
2008–2017 | 124 |
| 2 | Shaun Johnson | New Zealand
|
2013–2017 | 120 |
| 3 | Mick Cronin | Australia
|
1975–1982 | 112 |
| 4 | Michael O'Connor | Australia
|
1985–1990 | 108 |
| 5 | George Fairbairn | Great Britain England
|
1975–1982 | 94 |
Most tries in a tournament
| Tries | Player | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Valentine Holmes
|
2017 |
| 12 | Josh Addo-Carr
|
2021 |
| 10 | Wendell Sailor
|
2000 |
| 9 | Jarryd Hayne
|
2013 |
| Brett Morris
|
2013 | |
| Dominic Young
|
2021 | |
| 7 | Billy Slater
|
2008 |
Most tries in a match
| Tries | Player | Year |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Valentine Holmes
|
2017 |
| 5 | Valentine Holmes
|
2017 |
| Josh Addo-Carr
|
2021 | |
| Tommy Makinson
|
2021 |
Miscellaneous
Winning captains and coaches
A foreign coach has never managed a World Cup-winning team.
| Year | Captain | Coach | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Dave Valentine
|
G Shaw
|
Great Britain
|
| 1957 | Dick Poole
|
Dick Poole
|
Australia
|
| 1960 | Eric Ashton
|
William Fallowfield
|
Great Britain
|
| 1968 | Johnny Raper
|
Harry Bath
|
Australia
|
| 1970 | Ron Coote | Harry Bath | Australia
|
| 1972 | Clive Sullivan
|
Jim Challinor
|
Great Britain
|
| 1975 | Arthur Beetson | Graeme Langlands | Australia
|
| 1977 | Arthur Beetson | Terry Fearnley | Australia
|
| 1988 | Wally Lewis | Don Furner | Australia
|
| 1992 | Mal Meninga | Bob Fulton | Australia
|
| 1995 | Brad Fittler | Bob Fulton | Australia
|
| 2000 | Brad Fittler | Chris Anderson | Australia
|
| 2008 | Nathan Cayless | Stephen Kearney | New Zealand
|
| 2013 | Cameron Smith
|
Tim Sheens
|
Australia
|
| 2017 | Cameron Smith
|
Mal Meninga
|
Australia
|
Draws
| Team | Score | Opponent | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| France
|
13–13 | Great Britain
|
7 November 1954 |
| Great Britain
|
10–10* | Australia
|
11 November 1972 |
| New Zealand
|
17–17 | England
|
21 June 1975 |
| Australia
|
10–10 | England
|
28 June 1975 |
| France
|
12–12 | New Zealand
|
17 October 1975 |
| Great Britain
|
6–6 | New Zealand
|
9 November 1985 |
| France
|
10–10 | Great Britain
|
16 February 1986 |
| Papua New Guinea
|
28–28 | Tonga
|
10 October 1995 |
| Cook Islands
|
22–22 |  Lebanon
|
5 November 2000 |
| Samoa
|
14–14 | Scotland
|
11 November 2017 |
Nil points
| Team | Score | Opponent | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| France
|
0–9 | New Zealand
|
8 October 1960 |
| France
|
0–6 | Great Britain
|
28 October 1970 |
| France
|
0–27 | New Zealand
|
15 June 1975 |
| England
|
0–25 | Australia
|
12 November 1975 |
| Australia
|
0–18 | New Zealand
|
7 July 1985 |
| France
|
0–22 | New Zealand
|
7 December 1985 |
| France
|
0–52 | Australia
|
13 December 1986 |
| Papua New Guinea
|
0–42 | Great Britain
|
24 October 1987 |
| France
|
0–34 | New Zealand
|
3 December 1989 |
| Great Britain
|
0–14 | Australia
|
24 November 1990 |
| France
|
0–36 | Great Britain
|
7 March 1992 |
| Fiji
|
0–46 | England
|
11 October 1995 |
| Fiji
|
0–66 | Australia
|
14 October 1995 |
| South Africa
|
0–46 | England
|
14 October 1995 |
| Lebanon
|
0–64 | New Zealand
|
29 October 2000 |
| South Africa
|
0–16 | Papua New Guinea
|
2 November 2000 |
| Fiji
|
0–52 | Australia
|
16 November 2008 |
| France
|
0–48 | New Zealand
|
1 November 2013 |
 Ireland
|
0–42 | England
|
2 November 2013 |
| Ireland
|
0–50 | Australia
|
9 November 2013 |
 Italy
|
0–16 | Tonga
|
10 November 2013 |
 United States
|
0–62 | Australia
|
16 November 2013 |
| Fiji
|
0–64 | Australia
|
23 November 2013 |
| United States
|
0–46 | Italy
|
5 November 2017 |
| Lebanon
|
0–34 | Australia
|
11 November 2017 |
| United States
|
0–64 | Papua New Guinea
|
12 November 2017 |
| Samoa
|
0–46 | Australia
|
17 November 2017 |
| England
|
0–6 | Australia
|
2 December 2017 |
| Scotland
|
0–84 | Australia
|
21 October 2022[1] |
| Wales
|
0–36 | Papua New Guinea
|
31 October 2022[2] |
Attendance Records
The 2013 Rugby League World Cup final at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, drew a world record international rugby league attendance of 74,468.[3]
Top 5 match attendances
| Year | Venue | City/Country | Event | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Old Trafford | Manchester, England | Final | Australia def. New Zealand 34–2 |
74,468 |
| 1989–92 | Wembley Stadium (1923) | London, England | Final | Australia def. Great Britain 10–6 |
73,631 |
| 2013 | Wembley Stadium | London, England | Semi Final (double header) | Australia def. Fiji 64–0 New Zealand def. England 20–18 |
67,575 |
| 1995 | Wembley Stadium (1923) | London, England | Final | Australia def. England 16–8 |
66,540 |
| 1968 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Sydney, Australia | Group stage | Australia def. Great Britain 25–10 |
62,256 |
Top 5 World Cup final attendances
| Year | Venue | City/Country | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Old Trafford | Manchester, England | Australia def. New Zealand 34–2 |
74,468 |
| 1992 | Wembley Stadium (1923) | London, England | Australia def. Great Britain 10–6 |
73,631 |
| 1995 | Wembley Stadium (1923) | London, England | Australia def. England 16–8 |
66,540 |
| 1968 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Sydney, Australia | Australia def. France 20–2 |
54,290 |
| 2008 | Suncorp Stadium | Brisbane, Australia | New Zealand def. Australia 34–20 |
50,599 |
Highest Attendance per Host Nation
| Country | Year | Venue | City | Event | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 2013 | Old Trafford | Manchester | Final | Australia def. New Zealand 34–2 |
74,468 |
| Australia | 1968 | Sydney Cricket Ground | Sydney | Group stage | Australia def. Great Britain 25–10 |
62,256 |
| New Zealand | 1988 | Eden Park | Auckland | Final | Australia def. New Zealand 25–12 |
47,363 |
| Wales | 2013 | Millennium Stadium | Cardiff | Group stage (double header) | Australia def. England 28–20 Italy def. Wales 32–16 |
45,052 |
| France | 1954 | Stadium de Toulouse | Toulouse | Group stage | France drew with Great Britain 13–13 |
37,471 |
| Papua New Guinea | 1986 | Lloyd Robson Oval | Port Moresby | Group stage | Australia def. Papua New Guinea 62–12 |
17,000 |
| Ireland | 2013 | Thomond Park | Limerick | Group stage | Australia def. Ireland 50–0 |
5,021 |
| Northern Ireland | 2000 | Windsor Park | Belfast | Group stage | Ireland def. Samoa 30–16 |
3,207 |
| Scotland | 2000 | Firhill Stadium | Glasgow | Group stage |  Aotearoa Māori def. Scotland 17–16 |
2,008 |
See also
References
- ^ "Australia 84–0 Scotland". RLWC2021. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ "Papua New Guinea 36–0 Wales". RLWC2021. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- ^ Fletcher, Paul (30 November 2013). "Rugby League World Cup 2013: New Zealand 2–34 Australia". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2 December 2013.