The 1954 Rugby League World Cup featured the national teams (selected from eighteen-man squads) of four nations.
Match details - listing surnames of each team and the point scorers - were included in E.E. Christensen's Official Rugby League Yearbook, as was a summary of the players' point-scoring. [1] This information is reflected in the Rugby League Project website.
For Australian players, the World Cup tournament took place in 1954's post-season. Their coach was Vic Hey [2] The team was managed by Spencer O'Neill of Parramatta, NSW and Jack McMahon of Queensland. [3]
The Rugby League News published details of the touring team including each player's age and weight. [4]
Banks, Davies, Flannery, Hall, McCaffery, O'Shea and Watson were selected from Queensland clubs. Pidding was selected from clubs in New South Wales Country areas. This lineup of the squad played for Sydney-based clubs during the 1954 season.
Player | Position | Age | Weight st.lb (kg) | Club | Games | Tries | Goals | FG | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bob Banks | Five-eighth | 23 | 12.10 (81) | ![]() | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Roy Bull | Prop | 25 | 14.7 (92) | ![]() | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Clive Churchill | Fullback | 27 | 11.7 (73) | ![]() | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Harold Crocker | Second-row | 25 | 15.0 (95) | ![]() | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Brian Davies | Prop, Second-row | 23 | 14.12 (94) | ![]() | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Peter Diversi | Lock | 22 | 14.4 (91) | ![]() | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Denis Flannery | Wing | 25 | 13.8 (86) | ![]() | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Duncan Hall | Prop | 28 | 14.12 (94) | ![]() | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Greg Hawick | Utility Back | 22 | 13.5 (85) | ![]() | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Keith Holman | Halfback | 27 | 11.9 (74) | ![]() | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ken Kearney | Hooker | 28 | 13.9 (87) | ![]() | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Ken McCaffery | Five-eighth | 24 | 13.0 (83) | ![]() | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ian Moir | Wing | 22 | 11.4 (72) | ![]() | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kel O'Shea | Second-row | 21 | 15.1 (96) | Ayr | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Noel Pidding | Wing | 27 | 12.0 (76) | ![]() | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
Norm Provan | Second-row | 22 | 15.1 (96) | ![]() | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Alex Watson | Centre | 22 | 13.4 (84) | ![]() | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
Harry Wells | Centre | 22 | 14.2 (90) | ![]() | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
The Rugby League News published details of the Kiwi touring team including each player's provincial team, weight, height, ageand occupation. [5]
For British players, the World Cup tournament took place during the 1954–55 Northern Rugby Football League season. Their coach was Mr Gideon Shaw.
The Rugby League News published the selected British touring team. [6] The following seven players listed in this article did not play a match in the tournament: Billy Boston (Wigan), Willie Horne (Barrow), Geoff Gunney (Hunslet), W. Banks, Ron Rylance (Huddersfield), Alvin Ackerley (Halifax) and Johnny Whiteley (Hull).
English representative Phil Jackson was born in Canada. David Rose and captain Dave Valentine were representatives from Scotland, and John Thorley from Wales.
Player | Position | Club | Games | Tries | Goals | FG | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Five-eighth | ![]() | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
![]() | Prop | ![]() | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | Halfback | ![]() | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
![]() | Centre | ![]() | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
![]() | Wing | ![]() | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
![]() | Fullback | ![]() | 4 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 29 |
![]() | Centre | ![]() | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | Second-row | ![]() | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | Wing | ![]() | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
![]() | Hooker | ![]() | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | Wing | ![]() | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | Prop | ![]() | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | Lock | ![]() | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
![]() | Second-row | ![]() | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Coaches: Jean Duhau and René Duffort The French squad was: [7]
Player | Position | Age | Club | Games | Tries | Goals | FG | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jean Audoubert | Hooker | 30 | | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Gilbert Benausse | Five-eighth, Halfback | 22 | | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Vincent Cantoni | Wing | 27 | ![]() | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
André Carrère | Prop | 30 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Raymond Contrastin | Wing | 29 | ![]() | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
Joseph Crespo | Halfback | 29 | | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Guy Delaye | Second-row | 25 | ![]() | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Roger Guilhem | Lock | 28 | | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Antoine Jimenez | Five-eighth, Centre | 25 | | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Joseph Krawzyck | Prop | - | | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Jacques Merquey | Centre | 25 | ![]() | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Jean Pambrun | Second-row | 24 | ![]() | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Puig Aubert | Fullback | 29 | ![]() | 4 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 26 |
François Rinaldi | Prop | - | ![]() | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Armand Save | Second-row | 23 | ![]() | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Claude Teisseire | Five-eighth, Centre | 23 | | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Gilbert Verdié | Lock | 26 | ![]() | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Maurice Voron | Wing | - | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Note: The Rugby League Project has Roger Guilhem playing one match and Gilbert Verdié two, whilst EE Christensen's Official Rugby League Yearbook has Roger Guilhem playing two matches (the round matches against Great Britain and Australia) and Gilbert Verdié playing one match (the Final against Great Britain).