The 1995 Rugby League World Cup was the eleventh World Cup for mens national rugby league teams. It was held between 7-28 October and hosted by England and Wales and was won by Australia who beat England at Wembley Stadium, their eighth World Cup win and fifth in succession.
The 2000 Rugby League World Cup was the twelfth World Cup for men’s national rugby league teams, held between 28 October and 25 November and hosted between the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. Australia won their ninth title by beating New Zealand 40-12 in the final at Old Trafford.
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.
Kurt Geoffrey Gidley is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Warrington Wolves in the Super League. An Australia international and New South Wales State of Origin representative and captain, he previously played in the National Rugby League for the Newcastle Knights, captaining them for 123 games. He played as a fullback, five-eighth, halfback and hooker, although due to his versatility, he was able to slip into the positions of centre and lock when needed throughout his career.
The 2009 Rugby League Four Nations tournament was the first Rugby League Four Nations since its expansion from the Tri-Nations tournament. Played in England and France over three weeks from Friday, 23 October until Saturday, 14 November, France and England competed for the first time, with Great Britain's permanent split into the home nations' national teams following the 2007 New Zealand All Golds Tour. The tournament culminated in a final between world number 1 side Australia and hosts England. After 60 minutes of highly competitive football, Australia ran away with the match, scoring a barrage of late tries to win 46–16.
Viliamu "Willie" Talau is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A Samoa and New Zealand international representative centre, he played in the National Rugby League (NRL) for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, and in the Super League for St Helens, with whom he won the 2006 Super League Grand Final and the Challenge Cup on four occasions, and for the Salford City Reds.
The 1994 MMI World Club Challenge was a replay of the 1992 World Club Challenge, with 1993–94 Rugby Football League season champions Wigan facing the 1993 NSWRL season premiers, the Brisbane Broncos, this time in Australia. Wigan were clearly the dominant club in the English game, having won the previous four consecutive Rugby Football League Championships and Challenge Cup tournaments. The Broncos, having won consecutive premierships in 1992 and 1993, were the dominant team in the Australian game at the time. In the World Club Challenge–this time played unusually late in the year–Wigan were looking to get revenge for their loss against Brisbane in the sides' previous encounter, and obtained a strong first-half lead. The English club then survived a second-half comeback from Brisbane and won the match, cementing their position as the world's dominant rugby league club of the period.
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 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup Limited. The pre-event favourites were England, regarded by many at the time as the best team in the world. New Zealand, France, South Africa and defending champions Australia were also expected to make strong showings, with New Zealand being second favourites after victory in the southern-hemisphere Tri-Nations championship.
Group A of the 2008 Rugby League World Cup was one of the three groups of teams that competed in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. Group A was the largest of the tournament, consisting of four teams: Australia, New Zealand, England and Papua New Guinea. After all teams had played each other once, only Papua New Guinea did not advance to the knockout stage.
The 2008 Rugby League World Cup knockout stage took place after the group stage of the 2008 Rugby League World Cup and culminated in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup final.
The 1995 Trans-Tasman Test series was an international rugby league, three test series played in Australia between the Australian Kangaroos and New Zealand national rugby league team. As the series was played in the middle of the 1995 ARL season and most of the Kiwis selected came from Australian Rugby League (ARL) clubs, New Zealand did not play in any tour matches while in Australia, but prior to the series against Australia they had a two test home series against France.
The 2013 Rugby League World Cup final was the conclusive game of the 2013 Rugby League World Cup tournament and was played between New Zealand and Australia on 30 November 2013 at Old Trafford, Manchester, England. Australia won the final by 34 points to 2 in front of a sell-out crowd, finishing the tournament undefeated. They reclaimed the cup from New Zealand, who had defeated them in the 2008 final. The Kangaroos won the Rugby League World Cup for the tenth time, and the first time since 2000. Their five-eighth, Johnathan Thurston was named man-of-the-match.
The 1995 Rugby League World Cup final was the conclusive game of the 1995 Centenary World Cup tournament and was played between England and Australia on 28 October 1995 at the Wembley Stadium in London, England. Australia won the final by 16 points to 8 in front of 66,540 fans. Australia, the defending champions, won the Rugby League World Cup for the 8th time.
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 2008 New Zealand rugby league tour of Australia was a tour by the New Zealand national rugby league team to compete at the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. New Zealand came second in Group A of the tournament before winning their semi-finals against England and defeating Australia 34–20 in the final to win the World Cup for the first time.
The 2000 New Zealand rugby league tour of Great Britain was a tour by the New Zealand national rugby league team to compete at the 2000 Rugby League World Cup. New Zealand dominated Group 1 of the tournament thrashing Lebanon, the Cook Islands and Wales with a combined score of 206–28, before winning their quarter-final against France and their semi-final against England to qualify for the final. In the final, they lost to defending champions Australia 12-40 to finish runners-up in a World Cup tournament for the second time.
The 1995 Rugby League World Cup knockout stage took place after the group stage of the 1995 Rugby League World Cup and culminated in the 1995 Rugby League World Cup final.
The 2021 Rugby League World Cup final was the rugby league match to determine the winner of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, played between Australia and Samoa on 19 November 2022 at Old Trafford in Manchester, England.
