1970 Rugby League World Cup

The fifth Rugby League World Cup was held in Great Britain in 1970. Britain, fresh from defeating Australia in the Ashes during their Australasian tour earlier in the year (the last time as of 2017 that they would win The Ashes), were hot favourites, and won all three of their group stage games, including defeating Australia 11–4. All the other nations lost two games each, and Australia qualified for the final largely on the back of an impressive tally of points against New Zealand.

1970 (1970) World Cup  ()
Number of teams4
Host country England
Winner Australia (3rd title)
Matches played7
Attendance68,710 (9,816 per match)
Points scored205 (29.29 per match)
Top scorer Eric Simms (37)
Top try scorer John Cootes (5)
Tournaments
 < 1968
1972 > 

The final was held at Headingley, Leeds. Although Great Britain dominated the possession, the Kangaroos were able to exploit their chances, and ran out unexpected winners in a scrappy game that became known as the "Battle of Leeds".

Australian centre Bob Fulton was named the official player of the tournament.

After winning the tournament, the Australian team put the World Cup trophy on display in the Midland Hotel in Bradford. From there it was stolen and remained unseen for the next 20 years.[1]

Squads
Main article: 1970 Rugby League World Cup squads

Venues

Headingley in Leeds hosted a group game between Great Britain and Australia and also hosted the World Cup Final.

Leeds Wigan Bradford
Headingley Central Park Odsal Stadium
Capacity: 30,000 Capacity: 40,000 Capacity: 40,000
Swinton Hull Castleford
Station Road The Boulevard Wheldon Road
Capacity: 35,000 Capacity: 16,000 Capacity: 15,000

Results
21 October
Australia  47 – 11  New Zealand
Central Park, Wigan
Attendance: 9,805

Australia beat the Kiwis easily at Wigan in the opening fixture with Eric Simms repeating his form of the 1968 tourney by landing a record ten goals.

24 October
Great Britain  11 – 4  Australia
Headingley, Leeds
Attendance: 15,084

Britain came from 0–4 behind to defeat Australia 11–4 at Headingley with Syd Hynes scoring the game's only try.

25 October
France  15 – 16  New Zealand
The Boulevard, Hull
Attendance: 3,824

The try of the tournament was scored by the sensational French winger Serge Marsolan against New Zealand in a mud-bath at Hull. Marsolan ran from behind his own line for a try fit to win any match but the lackadaisical French lost 15–16.

28 October
Great Britain  6 – 0  France
Wheldon Road, Castleford
Attendance: 8,958

The French put up a great fight against Britain in vile conditions, only to lose 0–6 at Castleford to three penalties from Ray Dutton.

31 October
Great Britain  27 – 17  New Zealand
Station Road, Swinton
Attendance: 5,609

Britain eliminated New Zealand from the tournament, cruising to victory with five tries to three.[2]

1 November
Australia  15 – 17  France
Odsal Stadium, Bradford
Attendance: 6,654

This incredibly exciting game has been described as the tournament's piece de resistance. Aussie centre Bobby Fulton scored a try within seconds of the kick-off – probably the quickest ever in international matches. However, with ten minutes to go and the scores level at 15–15, the French stole the game when stand-off half Jean Capdouze dropped a monster goal. The Kangaroos' loss to France meant it was Australia's superior points differential (on the back of their pointsfest in the opening game against New Zealand) alone that got them into the final with the undefeated Great Britain team.

Table
TeamPlayedWonDrewLost For AgainstDifferencePoints
 Great Britain33004421+236
 Australia31026639+272
 France31023237−52
 New Zealand31024489−452

Final
Main article: 1970 Rugby League World Cup Final
7 November 1970
Great Britain  7–12  Australia
Tries:
John Atkinson

Goals:
Ray Dutton (1)
Field Goal:
Syd Hynes		 [3] Tries:
John Cootes
Lionel Williamson
Goals:
Eric Simms (2)
Field Goal:
Eric Simms
Headingley, Leeds
Attendance: 18,776
Referee: Fred Lindop
Great Britain
Australia
FB1 Ray Dutton
RW2 Alan Smith
RC3 Syd Hynes
LC4 Frank Myler (c)
LW5 John Atkinson
SO6 Mick Shoebottom
SH7 Keith Hepworth
PR8 Dennis Hartley
HK9 Tony Fisher
PR10 Cliff Watson
SR11 Jimmy Thompson
SR12 Doug Laughton
LF13 Mal Reilly
Substitutions:
IC14 Chris Hesketh
IC15 Bob Haigh
Coach:
Johnny Whiteley
FB1 Eric Simms
RW2 Lionel Williamson
RC3 John Cootes
LC4 Paul Sait
LW5 Mark Harris
FE6 Bob Fulton
HB7 Billy Smith
PR8 John O'Neill
HK9 Ron Turner
PR10 Bob O'Reilly
SR11 Bob McCarthy
SR12 Ron Costello
LK13 Ron Coote (c)
Substitutions:
IC14 Ray Branighan
IC15 Elwyn Walters
Coach:
Harry Bath

Having retained the Ashes, Great Britain were favourites to win the final,[4] which would become known as the 'Battle of Headingly'[5] due to its brutality. However it went completely against expectations as Britain failed to play any decent football despite overwhelming possession. The Kangaroos led 5–4 at half-time with a try to Australian three-quarter, Father John Cootes. They went on to utilise their meagre chances to the full, running out 12–7 victors. The game itself was an extended punch-up. The only surprise was that it took 79 minutes before anyone was sent off. Two sacrificial lambs, Billy Smith of Australia and Syd Hynes of Britain, were sent off the field in the last minute for what had been going unpunished throughout the game.

Try scorers
5
4
2
1

References
  1. "Trophy back home – after 20 years". The Sun-Herald. Fairfax Digital. 2 June 1990. p. 90. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
  2. AAP; Reuter (2 November 1970). "Britain has easy Cup win". The Age. p. 18. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
  3. Report
  4. Kdouh, Fatima (28 November 2013). "We take a look back at the greatest Rugby League World Cup finals of all time". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  5. Barnes, Steve (13 August 2006). "Questions & Answers". The Sunday Times. UK: Times Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 1 January 2011.
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