The1954 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 inE.E. Christensen's Official Rugby League Yearbook, as was a summary of the players' point-scoring.[1] This information is reflected in theRugby League Project website.
For Australian players, the World Cup tournament took place in 1954's post-season. Their coach wasVic Hey[2]The team was managed by Spencer O'Neill of Parramatta, NSW and Jack McMahon of Queensland.[3]
TheRugby 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) |  Toowoomba Newtown | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roy Bull | Prop | 25 | 14.7 (92) |  Manly-Warringah | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Clive Churchill | Fullback | 27 | 11.7 (73) |  South Sydney | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Harold Crocker | Second-row | 25 | 15.0 (95) |  Parramatta | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Davies | Prop,Second-row | 23 | 14.12 (94) |  Booval Swifts | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Diversi | Lock | 22 | 14.4 (91) |  North Sydney | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Denis Flannery | Wing | 25 | 13.8 (86) |  Ipswich Brothers | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Duncan Hall | Prop | 28 | 14.12 (94) |  Brisbane Western Suburbs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Hawick | Utility Back | 22 | 13.5 (85) | South Sydney | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Keith Holman | Halfback | 27 | 11.9 (74) |  Western Suburbs | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Kearney | Hooker | 28 | 13.9 (87) |  St George | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Ken McCaffery | Five-eighth | 24 | 13.0 (83) |  Toowoomba Souths | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ian Moir | Wing | 22 | 11.4 (72) | South Sydney | 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) | Maitland | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Norm Provan | Second-row | 22 | 15.1 (96) | St George | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Watson | Centre | 22 | 13.4 (84) | Brisbane Western Suburbs | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Harry Wells | Centre | 22 | 14.2 (90) | Wollongong | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
TheRugby League News published details of the Kiwi touring team including each player's provincial team, weight, height, ageand occupation.[5]
| Player | Position | Age | Weight st.lb (kg) | Province | Games | Tries | Goals | FG | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Anderson | Fullback | 27 | 12. 1 (77) |  Auckland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alister Atkinson | Lock | 28 | 12. 10 (81) | Canterbury | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Austin | Wing,Centre | 24 | 12. 2 (77) | Auckland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lory Blanchard | Hooker | 30 | 14. 3 (90) | Canterbury | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Bond | Prop,Second-row | 22 | 14. 7 (92) | Canterbury | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Jock Butterfield | Second-row | 22 | 14. 0 (89) | Canterbury | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Neville Denton | Fullback | 20 | 12. 0 (76) | Auckland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cyril Eastlake (c) | Wing,Centre | 24 | 11. 9 (74) | Auckland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Jimmy Edwards | Wing | 27 | 12. 0 (76) | Auckland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Len Eriksen | Halfback | 27 | 10. 0 (64) | Auckland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Ian Grey | Fullback | 23 | 12. 7 (79) | Auckland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cliff Johnson | Prop | 25 | 14. 3 (90) | Auckland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| George McDonald | Second-row | 20 | 13. 10 (87) |  South Auckland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron McKay | Centre | 22 | 12. 9 (80) |  Taranaki | 3 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 21 |
| Bill McLennan | Prop | 26 | 15. 10 (100) |  West Coast | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| George Menzies | Wing | 23 | 11. 4 (72) | West Coast | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Sorensen | Five-eighth | 22 | 13. 4 (84) | Auckland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Yates | Second-row | 24 | 14. 11 (94) | Auckland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
For British players, the World Cup tournament took place during the1954–55 Northern Rugby Football League season. Their coach was Mr Gideon Shaw.
TheRugby 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) andJohnny Whiteley (Hull).
English representativePhil Jackson was born in Canada.David Rose and captainDave Valentine were representatives from Scotland, andJohn Thorley from Wales.
| Player | Position | Club | Games | Tries | Goals | FG | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Gordon Brown | Five-eighth |  Leeds | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Bob Coverdale | Prop |  Hull | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry Helme | Halfback |  Warrington | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
 Phil Jackson | Centre |  Barrow | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Frank Kitchen | Wing |  Leigh | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Jimmy Ledgard | Fullback | Leigh | 4 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 29 |
| Albert Naughton | Centre | Warrington | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Robinson | Second-row |  Wakefield Trinity | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 David Rose | Wing | Leeds | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Sam Smith | Hooker |  Hunslet | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mick Sullivan | Wing |  Huddersfield | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 John Thorley | Prop |  Halifax | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Valentine (c) | Lock | Huddersfield | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Basil Watts | Second-row |  York | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Coaches:Jean Duhau andRené DuffortThe French squad was:[7]
| Player | Position | Age | Club | Games | Tries | Goals | FG | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jean Audoubert | Hooker | 30 |  Lyon Villeurbanne | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Gilbert Benausse | Five-eighth,Halfback | 22 |  AS Carcassonne | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vincent Cantoni | Wing | 27 |  Toulouse Olympique | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| André Carrère | Prop | 30 |  Villeneuve XIII RLLG | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Raymond Contrastin | Wing | 29 |  Bordeaux XIII [fr] | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
| Joseph Crespo | Halfback | 29 | Lyon Villeurbanne | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Guy Delaye | Second-row | 25 |  Sporting Olympique Avignon | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Roger Guilhem | Lock | 28 | AS Carcassonne | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Antoine Jimenez | Five-eighth,Centre | 25 | Villeneuve XIII RLLG | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joseph Krawzyck | Prop | - | Lyon Villeurbanne | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Jacques Merquey | Centre | 25 | Sporting Olympique Avignon | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Jean Pambrun | Second-row | 24 | Marseille XIII | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Puig Aubert | Fullback | 29 |  XIII Catalan | 4 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 26 |
| François Rinaldi | Prop | - | Marseille XIII | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Armand Save | Second-row | 23 | Bordeaux XIII [fr] | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Claude Teisseire | Five-eighth,Centre | 23 | AS Carcassonne | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gilbert Verdié | Lock | 26 |  Racing Club Albi XIII | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Maurice Voron | Wing | - | Lyon Villeurbanne | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Note: TheRugby League Project hasRoger Guilhem playing one match andGilbert Verdié two, whilstEE Christensen's Official Rugby League Yearbook hasRoger Guilhem playing two matches (the round matches against Great Britain and Australia) andGilbert Verdié playing one match (the Final against Great Britain).