| 1970 Rugby League World Cup final | |||||||||||||
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| Date | 7 November 1970 | ||||||||||||
| Stadium | Headingley | ||||||||||||
| Location | Leeds, England | ||||||||||||
| Referee | Fred Lindop (Great Britain) | ||||||||||||
| Attendance | 18,776 | ||||||||||||
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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 1970 Rugby League World Cup was the fifth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since its inauguration in 1954, and the first since the 1968 tournament. The tournament was held in the England from 21 October, culminating in the final between Great Britain and Australia on 8 November.
| Opposing Team | For | Against | Date | Venue | Attendance | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australia | 11 | 4 | 24 October | Headingley, Leeds | 15,084 | Group stage |
 France | 6 | 0 | 28 October | Wheldon Road, Castleford | 8,958 | Group stage |
 New Zealand | 53 | 19 | 31 October | Station Road, Swinton | 5,609 | Group stage |
Great Britain were undefeated going into the final.
| Opposing Team | For | Against | Date | Venue | Attendance | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 47 | 11 | 21 October | Central Park, Wigan | 9,805 | Group stage |
 Great Britain | 4 | 11 | 24 October | Headingley, Leeds | 15,084 | Group stage |
| France | 15 | 17 | 1 November | Odsal Stadium, Bradford | 6,654 | Group stage |
Australia, France and New Zealand all finished with one win each. Australia advanced to the Final by virtue of a better for and against record.
7 November 1970 |
| Great Britain | 7–12 | Australia |
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| Tries: John Atkinson Goals: Ray Dutton (1) Field Goal: Syd Hynes | [1] | Tries: John Cootes Lionel Williamson Goals: Eric Simms (2) Field Goal: Eric Simms |
      Great Britain |      Australia |
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Having retained the Ashes against Australia during their 1970 Australasian tour, Great Britain were favourites to win the final, [2] which would become known as the 'Battle of Headingley' [3] 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. [4]
Great Britain, having been undefeated in the World Cup, felt that there should not have been a need to play a final, especially as they had already defeated Australia 11-4 at Headingley in the second game of the tournament.
We beat them at Leeds in the group stages as well as beating France and New Zealand so we were confident but in the final we got our tactics wrong. We tried to physically knock them down but we should have played more football. John Atkinson had that altercation with Father John Cootes after the final whistle. Tactically we didn't play to our best. Maybe there was some complacency due to the Ashes win and the group stage games.
— British loose forward Malcolm Reilly.
(Note: Although Reilly recalls a post-match incident between Atkinson and Cootes, what actually happened was Australian fullback Eric Simms attempted to shake hands with Atkinson after the game, but was instead greeted with a headbutt by the frustrated Lions winger. This led to a wild post-match brawl between the teams that had to be broken up by referee Fred Lindop, his two touch judges, and the Leeds City Police.) [5]
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, 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.
The Ashes series, similar to the cricket series of the same name, was a best-of-three series of test matches between Australia and Great Britain national rugby league football teams. It had been contested 39 times from 1908 until 2003 largely with hosting rights alternating between the two countries. Since 1973, Australia has won a record thirteen consecutive Ashes series.
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 Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home games at AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium and compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league.
William John Smith is an Australian former rugby league footballer. He was the leading halfback in Australian rugby league during the late 1960s, and a keystone of the latter part of the St. George Dragons' eleven consecutive premiership victories between 1956 and 1966. He represented Australia in eighteen Tests and eight World Cup games between 1964 and 1970. He captained Australia in a World Cup game against Great Britain in 1970.
John Atkinson was an English rugby union and World Cup-winning professional rugby league footballer. He played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and was a coach in the 1980s.
David Donald Valentine was a Scottish representative rugby union and World Cup winning rugby league footballer, a dual-code rugby international who played in the 1940s and 1950s, and coached in the 1960s.
Garry Edward Schofield OBE is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and is a member of the British Rugby League Hall of Fame.
Malcolm John Reilly OBE is an English former rugby league player and coach. He played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and coached in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, England and Yorkshire, and at club level for Castleford in England, and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in Australia, as a loose forward,
Bob Lindner is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1990s. An Australia national and Queensland State of Origin representative forward, he is one of a handful of players to be named man-of-the-match in State of Origin football more than once. Fifteen years after his retirement from football in Australia, he had made the most appearances and scored the most tries of any forward in State of Origin history.
Roger Millward was an English rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. A goal-kicking stand-off, he gained a high level of prominence in the sport in England by playing for Hull Kingston Rovers (captain) and Castleford, as well as representing Great Britain. Millward was awarded the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1983. Nicknamed “Roger the Dodger” for his elusive running, he was inducted into the Rugby League Hall of Fame in 2000. Millward’s ability placed him in the top bracket of rugby league halves to have ever played the game.
Derek Turner, also known by the nickname of "Rocky", was an English World Cup winning professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and coached in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, England, Yorkshire and Great Britain & France, and at club level for Hull Kingston Rovers, Oldham and Wakefield Trinity (captain), with whom he won three Challenge Cup Finals, as a second-row, or more usually loose forward, and coached at club level for Castleford, Leeds and Wakefield Trinity.
Robert Haigh is an English former rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s, and coached in the 1970s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, England and Yorkshire, and at club level for Wakefield Trinity (captain), Leeds and Bradford Northern, as a second-row, or loose forward.
John Holmes was an English professional rugby league footballer.
Phil Lowe is an English World Cup winning former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and coached in the 1980s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, England, and Yorkshire, and at club level for Hull Kingston Rovers and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, as a second-row, and coached at club level for York F.C.
John Cootes, nicknamed "the footballing priest", is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s, and Roman Catholic priest. An Australia international representative three-quarter back and adept goal-kicker, he played club football in the Newcastle Rugby League for Western Suburbs during the 1960s and also later worked as a television commentator and presenter.
Headingley Rugby Stadium is a Rugby League stadium in Headingley, Leeds and shares the same site as Headingley Cricket Ground. It is the home ground of the Leeds Rhinos. Headingley is the 5th largest rugby league stadium in England.
The 1992 Rugby League World Cup final was the conclusive game of the 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup tournament and was played between Great Britain and Australia on 24 October 1992 at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Australia won the final by 10 points to 6 in front of an international record crowd of 73,631. Australia, the defending champions, won the Rugby League World Cup for the 7th time.
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.
