| 1954 Rugby League World Cup final | |||||||||||||
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| Date | 13 November 1954 | ||||||||||||
| Stadium | Parc des Princes | ||||||||||||
| Location | Paris, France | ||||||||||||
| Man of the Match | Don Robinson (Great Britain) | ||||||||||||
| Referee | Charles Appleton (Great Britain) | ||||||||||||
| Attendance | 30,368 | ||||||||||||
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The 1954 Rugby League World Cup final was the conclusive game of the 1954 Rugby League World Cup tournament and was played between France and Great Britain on 13 November 1954 at the Parc des Princes in Paris, France.
The 1954 Rugby League World Cup was the inaugural staging of the Rugby League World Cup. The tournament was held in France from 30 October, culminating in the final between France and Great Britain on 13 November.
| Opposing Team | For | Against | Date | Venue | Attendance | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 New Zealand | 22 | 13 | 30 October | Parc des Princes, Paris | 13,240 | Group Stage |
 Great Britain | 13 | 13 | 7 November | Stadium Municipal, Toulouse | 37,471 | Group Stage |
 Australia | 15 | 5 | 11 November | Stade Marcel Saupin, Nantes | 13,000 | Group Stage |
| Opposing Team | For | Against | Date | Venue | Attendance | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 28 | 13 | 31 October | Stade de Gerland, Lyon | 10,250 | Group Stage |
 France | 13 | 13 | 7 November | Stadium Municipal, Toulouse | 37,471 | Group Stage |
| New Zealand | 26 | 6 | 11 November | Stade Chaban Delmas, Bordeaux | 14,000 | Group Stage |
13 November 1954 |
| France | 12–16 | Great Britain |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Raymond Contrastin Vincent Cantoni Goals: Puig Aubert (3) | [1] | Try: Gordon Brown (2) Gerry Helme David Rose Goals: Jimmy Ledgard (2) |
Parc des Princes, Paris Attendance: 30,368 Referee: Charles Appleton (Great Britain) Player of the Match: Don Robinson (Great Britain) |
         France |  Great Britain |
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The BBC broadcast the whole match live in the UK via the Television Continental Exchange – a rare novelty for the time. France opened the scoring with a penalty Puig-Aubert kick from 45 yards out and played well early in the match, leading early in the second half thanks to a brilliant try from Cantoni. However Great Britain did not waver, with credit for the win given to a starring role by centre Phil Jackson [2] and the play of their forward pack, as well as the tough match France had played against Australia in Nantes two days earlier. [3] Great Britain defeated France 16–12 and became the first team to lift the World Cup. [4]
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 France and was won by Great Britain who beat France in the final at the Parc des Princes in Paris. As it was the first official World Cup of either rugby code it was officially known as the Rugby World Cup.
Jonathan Peter Wilkinson, is an English former rugby union player. A fly-half, he played for Newcastle Falcons and French side Toulon and represented England and the British & Irish Lions. He is particularly known for scoring the winning drop goal in the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final and is widely acknowledged as one of the best rugby union players of all time.
The Great Britain national rugby league team represents Great Britain in rugby league. Administered by the Rugby Football League (RFL), the team is nicknamed The Lions.
The Australian national rugby league team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competitions since the establishment of the game in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian Rugby League Commission, the Kangaroos are ranked first in the IRL Men's World Rankings. The team is the most successful in Rugby League World Cup history, having won the competition 12 times, and contested 15 of the 16 finals, only failing to reach the final in the 1954 inaugural tournament. Only five nations have beaten Australia in test matches, and Australia has an overall win percentage of 69%.
The New Zealand national rugby league team has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. The team's colours are black and white, with the dominant colour being black, and the players perform a haka before every match they play as a challenge to their opponents. The New Zealand Kiwis are currently second in the IRL World Rankings. Since the 1980s, most New Zealand representatives have been based overseas, in the professional National Rugby League and Super League competitions. Before that, players were selected entirely from clubs in domestic New Zealand leagues.
The Rugby League Tri-Nations was a rugby league tournament involving the top three teams in the sport: Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand and is the predecessor of today's Rugby League Four Nations.
The France national rugby league team represents France in international rugby league matches. They are referred to as les Chanticleers or less commonly as les Tricolores. The team is run under the auspices of the Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII.
The England national rugby league team represents England in international rugby league since the first international match in 1904. It is controlled by the Rugby Football League (RFL), the governing body for rugby league in England, and participated in the Rugby League World Cup and other test matches.
The Wales national rugby league team represents Wales in representative rugby league football matches. Currently the team is ranked 17th in the IRL World Rankings. The team was run under the auspices of the Rugby Football League, but an independent body, Wales Rugby League, now runs the team from Cardiff. Six Welsh players have been entered into the Rugby Football League Hall of Fame.
The Scotland national rugby league team represent Scotland in international rugby league football tournaments. Following the break-up of the Great Britain team in 2007, Scottish players play solely for Scotland, apart from occasional Southern Hemisphere tours, for which the Great Britain team is expected to be revived. The team is nicknamed the Bravehearts.
Shane Mark Williams, is a Welsh former rugby union player most famous for his long and successful tenure as a wing for the Ospreys and the Wales national team. He also played scrum-half on occasion. Williams is the record try scorer for Wales, and is fourth on the international list of leading rugby union test try scorers behind Daisuke Ohata, Bryan Habana and David Campese.
The Women's Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament, contested by the women's national team of the International Rugby League (IRL). The competition has been held since 2000 and was incorporated into the Festival of World Cups in 2008 until 2017 when it became a centrepiece event along with the men's competition. Under the current format, eight teams are separated into two groups of four with the top two in each group qualifying for the semi-finals.
James "Jim"/"Jimmy" Ledgard was an English rugby union and World Cup winning professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and coached rugby league in the 1960s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for Sandal RUFC, and representative level rugby league (RL) for Great Britain, England and Yorkshire, and at club level for Dewsbury, and Leigh, as a goal-kicking fullback, and coached at club level for Bradford Northern.
The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament contested by the top national men's representative teams. The tournament is administered by the International Rugby League and was first held in France in 1954, which was the first World Cup held for any form of rugby football.
The 2008 Rugby League World Cup final was the championship-deciding game of the 2008 Rugby League World Cup tournament. Played between New Zealand and Australia on 22 November 2008 at Brisbane's Lang Park, the match was a re-play of the 2000 Rugby League World Cup final and its outcome determined who became World Cup-holders for the following five years. Considered one of the biggest upsets in rugby league, New Zealand defeated Australia 34–20 to claim their first ever World Cup title.
The 2000 Rugby League World Cup final was the conclusive game of the 2000 Rugby League World Cup tournament and was played between Australia and New Zealand on November 25, 2000 at Old Trafford, Trafford, Greater Manchester, England.
The 1968 Rugby League World Cup final was the conclusive game of the 1968 Rugby League World Cup tournament and was played between Australia and France on 10 June 1968 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Australia.
The 1977 Rugby League World Cup final was the conclusive game of the 1977 Rugby League World Cup tournament and was played between Australia and Great Britain on 25 June 1977 at the Sydney Cricket Ground in Australia.
The 1970 Rugby League World Cup final was the conclusive game of the 1970 Rugby League World Cup tournament and was played between Great Britain and Australia on 8 November 1970 at the Headingley ground in Leeds, England.
The 1972 Rugby League World Cup final was the conclusive game of the 1972 Rugby League World Cup tournament and was played between Great Britain and Australia on 11 November 1972 at the Stade de Gerland ground in Lyon, France. The final was played before 4,231 fans who witnessed what is the last British team to win the Rugby League World Cup.
