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Rugby League World Cup records

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Main article: Rugby League World Cup

Rugby League World Cup records have been accumulating since the first Rugby League World Cup tournament was held in 1954.

Team Records

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All-time record

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This all-time table compares national teams that have participated in the Rugby League World Cup by a number of criteria including matches, wins, losses, draws, total points for, total points against, etc.

This table also shows accumulated points, which treats each match as a group stage match (2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss) and accumulates them together.

As of 2021 World Cup
Team Part Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Ref
 Australia 16 83 71 1 11 2,766 768 +1,998 143 [1]
 Cook Islands 3 4 2 1 6 146 358 -212 5 [2]
 England 7 38 24 2 12 1,111 560 +551 50 [3]
 Fiji 6 24 12 0 12 558 670 -112 24 [4]
 France 16 63 16 3 44 675 1,582 -907 35 [5]
 Great Britain 9 41 25 3 13 897 487 +410 53 [6]
 Greece 1 3 0 0 3 20 200 -200 0 [7]
 Ireland 5 16 7 0 10 324 370 -46 14 [8]
 Italy 3 9 3 1 5 168 266 -98 7 [9]
 Jamaica 1 3 0 0 3 20 190 -170 0 [10]
 Lebanon 3 11 3 1 7 227 323 -96 7 [11]
 New Zealand 16 74 37 3 34 1,845 1,328 +517 77 [12]
 Aotearoa Māori[a] 1 3 1 0 2 49 67 -18 2 [13]
 Papua New Guinea 8 35 9 1 25 571 1,106 -535 19 [14]
 Russia 1 3 0 0 3 20 224 -204 0 [15]
 Samoa 6 23 11 1 11 536 558 -22 23 [16]
 Scotland 5 16 3 2 11 194 537 -343 8 [17]
 South Africa 2 6 0 0 6 36 322 -286 0 [18]
 Tonga 6 20 12 1 7 610 351 +259 25 [19]
 United States 2 7 2 0 5 76 288 -212 4 [20]
 Wales 6 25 8 0 17 386 637 -251 16 [21]

Top four finishes

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Top four finishes
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

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Team Win rate
 Australia 75.00%
 Great Britain 33.33%
 New Zealand 6.67%

Biggest wins

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Biggest margin of victory[22]
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

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Most appearances

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All-time top player appearances[23]
Rank Player Country(s) Years Apps
1 Cameron Smith  Australia 2008–2017 17
2 Chris Hill[24]  England 2013–2022 16
3 Bob Fulton  Australia 1968–1975 15

Top try scorers

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All-time top try scorers[23]
Rank Player Country(s) Years Tries
1 Billy Slater  Australia 2008–2017 16
2 Jarryd Hayne  Australia
 Fiji 		2008–2017 14
Ryan Hall[25]  England 2013–2022
Valentine Holmes[26]  Australia 2017–2022
5 Bob Fulton  Australia 1968–1975 13

Top points scorers

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All-time top point scorers[23]
Rank Player Country(s) Years Points
1 Johnathan Thurston  Australia 2008–2013 124
2 Shaun Johnson  New Zealand 2013–2017 120
3 Mick Cronin  Australia 1975–1977 108
Michael O'Connor  Australia 1986–1990
5 George Fairbairn  Great Britain
 England 		1975–1977 92

Most tries in a single tournament

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Most tries in a match

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Most points in a single tournament

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Most points in a match

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Miscellaneous

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Winning captains and coaches

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A foreign coach has never managed a World Cup-winning team.

Year Captain Coach Team
1954 Scotland Dave Valentine England G Shaw  Great Britain
1957 Australia Dick Poole Australia Dick Poole  Australia
1960 England Eric Ashton England William Fallowfield  Great Britain
1968 AustraliaJohnny Raper AustraliaHarry Bath  Australia
1970 Ron Coote Harry Bath  Australia
1972 Wales Clive Sullivan England 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 Australia Cameron Smith Australia Tim Sheens  Australia
2017 Australia Cameron Smith Australia Mal Meninga  Australia

Attendance Records

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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.[30]

Top 5 match attendances

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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

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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

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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

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Notes

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  1. ^ Aotearoa Māori weren't a national team, but a representative side made up of players with Māori heritage.

References

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  1. ^ "Australia: Results: World Cup". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  2. ^ "Cook Islands: Results: World Cup". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  3. ^ "England: Results: World Cup". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  4. ^ "Fiji: Results: World Cup". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  5. ^ "France: Results: World Cup". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  6. ^ "Great Britain: Results: World Cup". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  7. ^ "Greeece: Results: World Cup". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  8. ^ "Ireland: Results: World Cup". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  9. ^ "Italy: Results: World Cup". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  10. ^ "Jamaica: Results: World Cup". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  11. ^ "Lebanon: Results: World Cup". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  12. ^ "New Zealand: Results: World Cup". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  13. ^ "New Zealand Maori: Results: World Cup". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  14. ^ "Papua New Guinea: Results: World Cup". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  15. ^ "Russia: Results: World Cup". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  16. ^ "Samoa: Results: World Cup". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  17. ^ "Scotland: Results: World Cup". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  18. ^ "South Africa: Results: World Cup". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  19. ^ "Tonga: Results: World Cup". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  20. ^ "United States of America: Results: World Cup". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  21. ^ "Wales: Results: World Cup". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  22. ^ "World Cup - Records". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  23. ^ a b c d "Historical Record Park: Men's Tournament" (PDF). Rugby League Records. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  24. ^ "Rugby League World Cup: England v Samoa - team news, key stats and preview". BBC Sport. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  25. ^ "Ryan Hall and Luke Thompson to miss out on England's quarter-final clash". Love Rugby League. 3 November 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  26. ^ "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  27. ^ a b "Blistering Valentine Holmes hits Fiji for six in Australian demolition job". The Guardian. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  28. ^ "Australia into Rugby League World Cup final after epic battle with New Zealand". The Guardian. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  29. ^ "Girdler's high kicks". BBC Sport. 5 November 2000. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  30. ^ Fletcher, Paul (30 November 2013). "Rugby League World Cup 2013: New Zealand 2–34 Australia". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
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