1954 Rugby League World Cup

1st World Cup tournament May 2014 May 2020 130px 30 October 13 November France 4 (reduced from 5) GB 1 France Australia 7 138329 GBR Jimmy Ledgard (29) GBR Gordon Brown (6) 1957 The 1954 Rugby League World Cup was rugby league's first World Cup and was held between 30 October and 13 November and hosted by France1954 World Cup https://web.archive.org/web/20090713072347/http://www.rugbyleagueplanet.com/RLP/Worldcup/1954worldcup.htm 13 July 2009 at rugbyleagueplanet.com and was won by Great Britain who beat France in the final at the Parc des Princes in Paris.1954 World Cup at rugbyleagueproject.org As it was the first official World Cup of either rugby code, it was officially known as the Rugby World Cup.SPARC, 2009: 28 Five nations were invited to compete: Australia, France, Great Britain, New Zealand and the United States, however the United States withdrew before the group stage draw. The prime instigators behind the idea of holding a rugby league world cup were the French, who were short of money following the seizure of their assets by French rugby union during the Second World War. The trophy, which was donated by the French, was worth eight million francs.http://www.rlwc08.com/about/pastwinners.aspx?article=1954 Rugby League International Federation Past Winners: 1954 RLIF 25 October 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081012230118/http://www.rlwc08.com/about/pastwinners.aspx?article=1954 12 October 2008 dead Background November 2014 thumb|Shirts of the teams in 1954. The World Cup was a French initiative. Led by Paul Barrière, who donated the Rugby League World Cup trophy himself,http://www.188-rugby-league.co.uk/content/feedstory/world-cup-1954-0 1954 World Cup 188 Rugby League https://web.archive.org/web/20120226222201/http://www.188-rugby-league.co.uk/content/feedstory/world-cup-1954-0 26 February 2012 at 188-rugby-league.co.uk they had been campaigning for such a tournament since before the Second World War. The uncertainty of the ultimate outcome was of particular interest. In the early 1950s all four competing nations were quite capable of beating each other – no test series in the period was a foregone conclusion. If there were a favourite it was Australia who had just won back the Ashes.https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19541020.2.156 Australia Likely To Win League Cup The Evening Post 20 October 1954 27743 13 However, in 1953 they had lost series to both the French and the Kiwis, while Great Britain had defeated New Zealand on the second half of their 1954 Australasian tour. The form book merely provided a conundrum which was made more confusing when the British were forced, through injuries and players making themselves unavailable, to select a raw and largely untried squad which was given little credibility by the cynics. The captains for this historic event were Puig-Aubert (France), Cyril Eastlake (New Zealand), Clive Churchill (Australia) and Dave Valentine (Britain). The referees were Warrington's Charlie Appleton and Rene Guidicelli (Perpignan). Participants 1954 Rugby League World Cup squads Five teams were invited to participate in the first World Cup; Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand and the United States along with hosts, France.AAP World Cup Suggestion The Sydney Morning Herald Australia 7 19 January 1953 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CbAUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=froDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2635,2047144 25 December 2009 There were concerns around the United States participation. The American All Stars who had toured Australia and New Zealand and drawn big crowds in 1953 but were heavily beaten in all their games as well as being beaten 31–0 by France in 1954.France vs. United States of America http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/matches/dates/9-january-1954/france-vs-usa.html Rugby League Project 13 October 2018 This led to doubts around whether an American team would be competitive enough to compete, and the United States withdrew from the tournament. When this was announced, the French Rugby League Federation stated their opinion that the United States was not yet up to the standard required for entering a world cup.https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19540209.2.120 U.S.A. Out Of World Cup Rugby League The Evening Post 9 February 1954 27527 11 It was suggested that Wales could replace the United States but were not ultimately invited as Great Britain were already participating.Ferguson Andrew The French Barriere That Wouldn't Break http://menofleague.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/MOL-issuu-53.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20181014053133/http://menofleague.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/MOL-issuu-53.pdf dead 14 October 2018 MenofLeague 13 October 2018 Several of New Zealand's leading players were not available and missed the tournament. Tommy Baxter, Jimmy Haig, Frank Mulcare, Doug Richards-Jolley and Des White all ruled themselves out of selection.https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19540909.2.15 Leading League Players Not Available The Evening Post 9 September 1954 27708 6 North America (0) USA 1912 (withdrew) Europe (2) FRA (hosts) GB Oceania (2) AUS NZL Venues The games were played at various venues in France with the Final played at the Parc des Princes in Paris. Marseille Paris Toulouse Lyon Stade Vélodrome Parc des Princes Stadium de Toulouse Stade de Gerland Capacity: 49,000 Capacity: 38,000 Capacity: 37,000 Capacity: 30,000 200px 200px 200px 200pxmiddle France 475 France red pog.svg 48.856667 2.350833 bottom Paris France red pog.svg 43.296386 5.369954 left Marseille France red pog.svg 43.583056 1.434167 left Toulouse France red pog.svg 45.723889 4.832222 top Lyon France red pog.svg 44.8386 -0.5783 right Bordeaux France red pog.svg 47.2125 -1.538333 top NantesBordeaux Stade Chaban-Delmas Capacity: 30,000 300px Nantes Stade Marcel-Saupin Capacity: 20,000 300px Group stage 1954 Rugby League World Cup group stage Ladder 30 OctoberFRA 179422–13NZLParc des Princes, Paris 31 OctoberAUS13–28GBRStade de Gerland, Lyon 7 NovemberAUS34–15New ZealandStade Vélodrome, Marseille 7 NovemberFRA 179413–13GBRStadium de Toulouse, Toulouse 11 NovemberFRA 179415–5AustraliaStade Marcel Saupin, Nantes 11 NovemberGBR26–6New ZealandStade Chaban Delmas, Bordeaux Final 1954 Rugby League World Cup final The 1954 Rugby League World Cup final was the conclusive game of the tournament and was played between France and Great Britain on November 13, 1954, at Parc des Princes, Paris, France. 13 November FRA 12–16 Report GBR Raymond ContrastinVincent Cantoni Puig Aubert (3) Gerry Helme Gordon Brown (2)David Rose Jimmy Ledgard (2) Parc des Princes, Paris 30,368 Charlie Appleton (England) Don Robinson (Great Britain) Try scorers 6 GBR Gordon Brown 5 22em FRA Raymond Contrastin 4 22em GBR David Rose 3 22em AUS Alex Watson GBR Gerry Helme GBR Phil Jackson GBR Frank Kitchen 2 22em AUS Ken Kearney AUS Kel O'Shea AUS Harry Wells FRA Vincent Cantoni 1 22em AUS Roy Bull AUS Peter Diversi AUS Greg Hawick FRA Jean Audoubert FRA Joseph Crespo FRA Guy Delaye FRA Joseph Krawzyck FRA Jacques Merquey GBR Jimmy Ledgard NZL Cyril Eastlake NZL Jimmy Edwards NZL Lenny Eriksen NZL Ron McKay References 30em General http://www.sparc.org.nz/Documents/media%20releases/NZRL-Independent-Review.pdf Rugby League – Contributing to New Zealand's Future Independent Review Committee New Zealand SPARC February 2009 13 December 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20100522180935/http://www.sparc.org.nz/Documents/media%20releases/NZRL-Independent-Review.pdf 22 May 2010 SPARC-2009 dead Rugby League World Cup Rugby League World Cup Category:International rugby league competitions hosted by France