Australia at the Rugby League World Cup

Last updated November 03, 2025

Australia have competed in every edition of the Rugby League World Cup. They have won 11 out of 15 times and have finished as runners-up on three other occasions. At every tournament, they automatically gain qualification.^[1]

Tournament results

World Cup Record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	Win	Draw	Loss
1954	Group	3rd out of 4	3	1	0	2
1957	Winners	1st out of 4	3	3	0	0
1960	Group	2nd out of 4	3	2	0	1
1968	Winners	1st out of 4	4	4	0	0
1970	Winners	1st out of 4	4	2	0	2
1972	Group	2nd out of 4	4	2	0	2
1975	Winners	1st out of 5	9	7	1	1
1977	Winners	1st out of 4	4	4	0	4
1985-88	Winners	1st out of 5	8	6	0	2
1989-92	Winners	1st out of 5	9	9	0	0
1995	Winners	1st out of 10	5	4	0	1
2000	Winners	1st out of 16	6	6	0	0
2008	Final	2nd out of 10	5	4	0	1
2013	Winners	1st out of 14	6	6	0	0
2017	Winners	1st out of 14	6	6	0	0
2021	Qualified

Tournaments

Key
Colour	Meaning
	Winners
	Qualifiers to the next round

1954

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Great Britain	3	2	1	0	67	32	+35	5	Advance to the Final
2	France	3	2	1	0	50	31	+19	5	Advance to the Final
3	Australia	3	1	0	2	52	58	−6	2
4	New Zealand	3	0	0	3	34	82	−48	0

Updated to match(es) played on 11 November 1954. Source: RugbyLeagueProject
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) point difference; 3) number of points scored

Round	Score	Opposition	Venue
Group Stage	13–28	Great Britain	Parc des Princes, Paris
	34–15	New Zealand	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
	5–15	France	Stade Marcel Saupin, Nantes

1957

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Result
Australia	3	3	0	82	20	+62	6	World Cup Winners
Great Britain	3	1	2	50	65	−15	2
New Zealand	3	1	2	44	60	−16	2
France	3	1	2	28	59	−31	2

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}

Round	Score	Opposition	Venue
Group Stage	25–5	New Zealand	Brisbane Cricket Ground, Brisbane
	31–6	Great Britain	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
	26–9	France	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney

1960

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Result
Great Britain	3	3	0	66	18	+48	6	World Cup Winners
Australia	3	2	1	37	37	0	4
New Zealand	3	1	2	32	44	−12	2
France	3	0	3	19	55	−36	0

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}

Round	Score	Opposition	Venue
Group Stage	13–12	France	Central Park, Wigan
	21–15	New Zealand	Headingley, Leeds
	10–3	Great Britain	Odsal Stadium, Bradford

1968

Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
Australia	3	3	0	93	26	+67	6	Qualified for the World Cup final
France	3	2	1	26	49	−23	4	Qualified for the World Cup final
Great Britain	3	1	2	50	46	+4	2
New Zealand	3	0	3	36	84	−48	0

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}

Round	Score	Opposition	Venue
Group Stage	25–10	Great Britain	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
	31–12	New Zealand	Lang Park, Brisbane
	37–4	France	Lang Park, Brisbane
Final	20–2	France	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney

1970

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
Great Britain	3	3	0	44	21	+23	6	Qualified for the World Cup final
Australia	3	1	2	66	39	+27	2	Qualified for the World Cup final
France	3	1	2	32	37	−5	2
New Zealand	3	1	2	44	89	−45	2

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}

Round	Score	Opposition	Venue
Group Stage	47–11	New Zealand	Central Park, Wigan
	4–11	Great Britain	Headingley, Leeds
	15–17	France	Odsal Stadium, Bradford
Final	12–7	Great Britain	Headingley, Leeds

1972

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
Great Britain	3	3	0	93	44	+49	6	Advances to the Final
Australia	3	2	1	61	41	+20	4	Advances to the Final
France	3	1	2	33	53	−20	2
New Zealand	3	0	3	33	82	−49	0

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}

Round	Score	Opposition	Venue
Group Stage	21–27	Great Britain	Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan
	9–5	New Zealand	Parc des Princes, Paris
	31–9	France	Stadium Municipal, Toulouse
Final	10–10	Great Britain	Stade de Gerland, Lyon

1975

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Australia	8	6	1	1	198	69	+129	13
England	8	5	2	1	167	84	+83	12
Wales	8	3	0	5	110	130	−20	6
New Zealand	8	2	2	4	121	149	−28	6
France	8	1	1	6	40	204	−164	3

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}

Round	Score	Opposition	Venue
Group Stage	36–8	New Zealand	Lang Park, Brisbane
	30–13	Wales	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
	26–6	France	Lang Park, Brisbane
	10–10	England	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
	24–8	New Zealand	Carlaw Park, Auckland
	18–6	Wales	St. Helen's Rugby Ground, Swansea
	41–2	France	Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan
	13–16	England	Central Park, Wigan
Challenge Match	25–0	England	Headingley, Leeds

1977

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
Australia	3	3	0	67	26	+41	6	Advances to the Final
Great Britain	3	2	1	58	35	+23	4	Advances to the Final
New Zealand	3	1	2	52	77	−25	2
France	3	0	3	33	72	−39	0

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}

Round	Score	Opposition	Venue
Group Stage	27–12	New Zealand	Carlaw Park, Auckland
	21–9	France	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
	19–5	Great Britain	Lang Park, Brisbane
Final	13–12	Great Britain	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney

1985–1988

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
Australia	8	6	0	2	252	91	+161	12^[a]	Qualified for the World Cup final
New Zealand	8	5	1	2	158	86	+72	11^[a]	Qualified for the World Cup final
Great Britain	8	4	2	2	203	90	+113	10
Papua New Guinea	8	2	0	6	84	325	−241	4^[a]
France	8	1	1	6	35	140	−105	3

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}
Notes:

1 2 3 France's 1987 away fixtures against Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea were scratched and each team awarded two points as the French were unable to tour Australasia that year due to financial difficulties.

Round	Score	Opposition	Venue
Group Stage	0–18	New Zealand	Carlaw Park, Auckland
	32–12	New Zealand	Lang Park, Brisbane
	62–12	Papua New Guinea	Lloyd Robson Oval, Port Moresby
	24–15	Great Britain	Central Park, Wigan
	52–0	France	Stade Albert Domec, Carcassonne
	26–12	Great Britain	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
	70–8	Papua New Guinea	Eric Weissel Oval, Wagga Wagga
Final	25–12	New Zealand	Eden Park, Auckland

1989–1992

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
Australia	8	8	0	236	68	+168	16	Advances to the Final
Great Britain	8	5	3	215	79	+136	10	Advances to the Final
New Zealand	8	5	3	203	120	+83	10
France	8	2	6	80	247	−167	4
Papua New Guinea	8	0	8	84	304	−220	0

Source: RLWC2013

Round	Score	Opposition	Venue
Group Stage	22–14	New Zealand	Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland
	34–2	France	Pioneer Oval, Parkes
	14–0	Great Britain	Elland Road, Leeds
	34–10	France	Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan
	40–12	New Zealand	Lang Park, Brisbane
	40–6	Papua New Guinea	Lloyd Robson Oval, Port Moresby
	16–10	Great Britain	Lang Park, Brisbane
	36–14	Papua New Guinea	Townsville Sports Reserve, Townsville
Final	10–6	Great Britain	Wembley Stadium, London

1995

Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
England	3	3	0	112	16	+96	6	Advances to knockout stage
Australia	3	2	1	168	26	+142	4	Advances to knockout stage
Fiji	3	1	2	52	118	−66	2
South Africa	3	0	3	12	184	−172	0

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}

Round	Score	Opposition	Venue
Group Stage	16–20	England	Wembley Stadium, London
	86–6	South Africa	Gateshead International Stadium, Gateshead
	66–0	Fiji	Kirklees Stadium, Huddersfield
Semi-Final	30–20	New Zealand	Kirklees Stadium, Huddersfield
Final	16–8	England	Wembley Stadium, London

2000

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Australia	3	3	0	198	14	+184	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	England	3	2	1	144	36	+108	4	Advance to knockout stage
3	Fiji	3	1	2	56	144	−88	2
4	Russia	3	0	3	20	224	−204	0

Source: Rugby League Project

Round	Score	Opposition	Venue
Group Stage	22–2	England	Twickenham Stadium, London
	66–8	Fiji	Gateshead International Stadium, Gateshead
	110–4	Russia	The Boulevard, Hull
Quarter-Final	66–10	Samoa	Vicarage Road, Watford
Semi-Final	46–22	Wales	Kirklees Stadium, Huddersfield
Final	40–12	New Zealand	Old Trafford, Manchester

2008

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Australia (H)	3	3	0	128	16	+112	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	New Zealand	3	2	1	90	60	+30	4
3	England	3	1	2	60	110	−50	2
4	Papua New Guinea	3	0	3	34	126	−92	0

Source:
(H) Hosts

Round	Score	Opposition	Venue
Group Stage	30–6	New Zealand	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
	52–4	England	Docklands Stadium, Melbourne
	46–6	Papua New Guinea	Willows Sports Complex, Townsville
Semi-Final	52–0	Fiji	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Final	20–34	New Zealand	Lang Park, Brisbane

2013

Team v t e	Pld	W	L	TF	PF	PA	+/−	Pts
Australia	3	3	0	20	112	22	+90	6
England	3	2	1	18	96	40	+56	4
Fiji	3	1	2	8	46	82	–36	2
Ireland	3	0	3	3	14	124	–110	0

Round	Score	Opposition	Venue
Group Stage	28–20	England	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
	34–2	Fiji	Langtree Park, St Helens
	50–0	Ireland	Thomond Park, Limerick
Quarter-Final	62–0	United States	Racecourse Ground, Wrexham
Semi-Final	64–0	Fiji	Wembley Stadium, London
Final	34–2	New Zealand	Old Trafford, Manchester

2017

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Australia (H)	3	3	0	104	10	+94	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	England	3	2	1	69	34	+35	4
3	Lebanon	3	1	2	39	81	−42	2
4	France	3	0	3	30	117	−87	0

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}
(H) Hosts

Round	Score	Opposition	Venue
Group Stage	18–4	England	Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne
	52–6	France	Canberra Stadium, Canberra
	34–0	Lebanon	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Quarter-Final	46–0	Samoa	Darwin Stadium, Darwin
Semi-Final	54–6	Fiji	Lang Park, Brisbane
Final	6–0	England	Lang Park, Brisbane

2021

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Australia	3	3	0	192	14	+178	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Fiji	3	2	1	98	60	+38	4	Advance to knockout stage
3	Italy	3	1	2	38	130	−92	2
4	Scotland	3	0	3	18	142	−124	0

Source: rlwc2021

Round	Score	Opposition	Venue
Group Stage	42-8	Fiji	KCOM Stadium, Hull
	84-0	Scotland	Ricoh Arena, Coventry
	66-6	Italy	Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens
Quarter-Final	48–4	Lebanon	John Smiths Stadium, Huddersfield
Semi-Final	16–14	New Zealand	Elland Road, Leeds
Final	30–10	Samoa	Old Trafford, Manchester

References

↑ Gordon, James (2019-11-04). "Who has qualified for the 2021 World Cup?". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 2020-06-04.

External links

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[table_hth_AUS0.90725923045876-2] 1 2 3 France's 1987 away fixtures against Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea were scratched and each team awarded two points as the French were unable to tour Australasia that year due to financial difficulties.

[1] Gordon, James (2019-11-04). "Who has qualified for the 2021 World Cup?". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 2020-06-04.

[1]

[a]

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Australia at the Rugby League World Cup

Contents

Tournament results

Tournaments

1954

1957

1960

1968

1970

1972

1975

1977

1985–1988

1989–1992

1995

2000

2008

2013

2017

2021

References

External links