| 1992 (1992) Rugby League World Cup final | |||||||||||||
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| Date | 24 October 1992 | ||||||||||||
| Stadium | Wembley Stadium | ||||||||||||
| Location | London,England | ||||||||||||
| Man of the Match | Steve Walters | ||||||||||||
| Referee | Dennis Hale | ||||||||||||
| Attendance | 73,631 | ||||||||||||
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The1992 Rugby League World Cup final was the conclusive game of the1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup tournament and was played betweenGreat Britain andAustralia on 24 October 1992 atWembley Stadium inLondon,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 theRugby League World Cup for the 7th time.
The crowd of 73,631 at Wembley set a new international rugby league attendance record, eclipsing the previous record of 70,204 established during the first test of the 1932Ashes series at theSydney Cricket Ground.[1] This record was eventually broken by the2013 Rugby League World Cup Final, which drew a sellout crowd of 74,468 atOld Trafford.[2]
| Key to colours in group tables |
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| Advances to the Final |
| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australia | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 236 | 68 | +168 | 16 |
 Great Britain | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 215 | 79 | +136 | 10 |
| New Zealand | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 203 | 120 | +83 | 10 |
 France | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 80 | 247 | −167 | 4 |
 Papua New Guinea | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 84 | 304 | −220 | 0 |
TheMal Reilly coached Great Britain started their World Cup campaign on 11 November 1989 when they defeatedNew Zealand 10–6 atCentral Park inWigan. Until the Final, The Lions won another 4 games while losing 3.
Nine of the 17 selected players for the Lions were from the1992 RFL championsWigan.
| Opposing Team | For | Against | Date | Venue | Attendance | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 10 | 6 | 11 November 1989 | Central Park,Wigan | 20,346 | Group Stage |
| Papua New Guinea | 40 | 8 | 2 June 1990 | Lloyd Robson Oval,Port Moresby | 7,837 | Group Stage |
| New Zealand | 18 | 21 | 15 July 1990 | Addington Showground,Christchurch | 3,133 | Group Stage |
| Australia | 0 | 14 | 24 November 1990 | Elland Road,Leeds | 32,500 | Group Stage |
| France | 45 | 10 | 27 January 1991 | Stade Gilbert Brutus,Perpignan | 3,965 | Group Stage |
| Papua New Guinea | 56 | 4 | 9 November 1991 | Central Park,Wigan | 4,193 | Group Stage |
| France | 36 | 0 | 7 March 1992 | The Boulevard,Hull | 5,250 | Group Stage |
| Australia | 10 | 16 | 3 July 1992 | Lang Park,Brisbane | 32,313 | Group Stage |
Australia began their World Cup campaign with a 22–14 win over New Zealand in the third test of the1989 Trans-Tasman series inAuckland on 23 July 1989. TheBob Fulton coached Kangaroos would win all 8 of their qualifying games.
Seven of the players selected for Australia were members of theBrisbane Broncos1992 NSWRL premiership winning team.
Australia were the defending World Cup Champions and had won all three World Cup finals since1975. The Kangaroos had won the1988 Rugby League World Cup final 25–12 over New Zealand atEden Park inAuckland.
In the fortnight prior to the World Cup final (following the1992 NSWRL Grand Final), the Australians embarked on a mini three game tour of England, essentially using the games as selection trial for the Final at Wembley. The Australians wore a non-traditional mostly white jumper with a green and gold diamond pattern in the shape of Kit supplierUmbro.[citation needed]
| Game | Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 October | Australia def. Huddersfield 66–2 | Leeds Road,Huddersfield | 4,716 |
| 2 | 14 October | Australia def. Sheffield 52–22 | Don Valley Stadium,Sheffield | 5,500 |
| 3 | 18 October | Australia def. Cumbria 44–0 | Derwent Park,Workington | 5,156 |
The Australian squad for their WCF Tour was:
Mal Meninga (c),Allan Langer (vc),Tim Brasher,Willie Carne,John Cartwright,Bradley Clyde,Brad Fittler,David Gillespie,Brad Godden,Michael Hancock,Paul Harragon,Chris Johns,Glenn Lazarus,Bob Lindner,Graham Mackay,Steve Renouf,Mark Sargent,Paul Sironen,Kerrod Walters,Kevin Walters,Steve Walters.
Of the selected squad, only team vice captain Allan Langer, Paul Sironen and David Gillespie had played in Australia's 1988 World Cup final win over New Zealand. All three would go on to play in the Final at Wembley playing in the same positions and wearing the same numbers (7, 11 and 14 respectively) they had done four years earlier at Eden Park.
| Opposing Team | For | Against | Date | Venue | Attendance | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 22 | 14 | 23 July 1989 | Mount Smart Stadium,Auckland | 15,000 | Group Stage |
| France | 34 | 2 | 27 June 1990 | Pioneer Oval,Parkes | 12,384 | Group Stage |
| Great Britain | 14 | 0 | 24 November 1990 | Elland Road,Leeds | 32,500 | Group Stage |
| France | 34 | 10 | 9 December 1990 | Stade Gilbert Brutus,Perpignan | 3,428 | Group Stage |
| New Zealand | 40 | 12 | 31 July 1991 | Lang Park,Brisbane | 29,139 | Group Stage |
| Papua New Guinea | 40 | 6 | 13 October 1991 | Lloyd Robson Oval,Port Moresby | 14,500 | Group Stage |
| Great Britain | 16 | 10 | 3 July 1992 | Lang Park,Brisbane | 32,313 | Group Stage |
| Papua New Guinea | 36 | 14 | 15 July 1992 | Townsville Sports Reserve,Townsville | 12,470 | Group Stage |
Before the final, Australia and Great Britain had played each other 119 times, with Australia winning 57 times, Great Britain 57 and 5 draws. Australia had not lost a test series or a World Cup to Great Britain (or England) since the1972 World Cup.
Australia and Great Britain had met in three previous World Cup finals;1970 atHeadingley Stadium inLeeds (won 12–7 by Australia),1972 atStade de Gerland inLyon,France (the game finished in a 10–10 draw but the Lions were awarded the Cup after finishing on top of the table), and1977 at theSydney Cricket Ground (won 13–12 by Australia).
As they had done in1988, Australia won the right to host the World Cup final. However, in the interests of rugby league and although they were confident of a sell-out if the game was held in Australia after capacity crowds attended all threeAshes Series testsearlier in the year against Great Britain, with the potential for a much larger attendance since at the timeLang Park in Brisbane could only hold 32,500, and theSydney Football Stadium could only seat 42,500, theAustralian Rugby League (ARL) agreed to theRugby Football League (RFL) hosting the final at the 82,000 capacityWembley Stadium inLondon.[citation needed]
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For the Lions, veteran Wigan outside backJoe Lydon was called into the squad late afterGraham Steadman had picked up an injury and was unavailable. WithDaryl Powell also unavailable through injury,Garry Schofield (who retained the captaincy overEllery Hanley) was moved to the centres while newBradford Northern signingDeryck Fox was recalled to play halfback withShaun Edwards moved to stand-off. Also recalled for his first test in almost two years (and ultimately his last) was 35 year old veteran front rowerKevin Ward. The Kangaroos went into the game with a question mark over their fullback with 21 year old Tim Brasher called upon to make his test debut in the No.1 jumper in the absence ofAndrew Ettingshausen while injury toLaurie Daley sawPenrith's talented 20 year oldBrad Fittler selected at 5/8. While the Lions were dominated by Wigan with 8 of their 17 being from the Cherry and Whites, it was Winfield Cup premiers Brisbane who had the most representation with 7 Broncos players selected (and all sporting crew-cuts as a result of their premiership celebrations), though Chris Johns would be the only player from either side not to get on the field during the game.
24 October 1992 2:30PM (BST) |
| Great Britain | 6–10 | Australia |
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| Tries: Goals: Deryck Fox (3/4) | Tries: Steve Renouf Goals: Mal Meninga (3/4) |
      Great Britain |      Australia |
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The first half of the World Cup final was a tight affair. The Lions took the lead early thanks to a penalty goal from Deryck Fox after a spilled bomb in front of the posts by debuting Kangaroos fullback Tim Brasher. Fox put up an attacking bomb and Brasher was tackled by Lions fullback Joe Lydon as he attempted to catch the ball. From there Steve Renouf dived on the loose ball that was only 2 metres in front of the posts and was ruled to be offside. From then on Fox and Kangaroos captain Mal Meninga traded penalty goals until the half with Great Britain going into the break with a 6–4 lead.
Great Britain were lucky to have a full complement on the field from about the 20 minute mark of the final after hooker Martin Dermott had caught Australian five-eighth Brad Fittler with an elbow to the face.[citation needed] However Dermott was cautioned by referee Hale rather than sent off. While Meninga kicked a penalty goal, Fittler went to the sidelines where he was cleared of serious injury and returned to the game without being replaced. At half time, Kangaroos doctorNathan Gibbs diagnosed a hairline fracture of his cheek bone, but cleared him to play on.
Great Britain wasn't without its own problems though. Early in the first half fullback Joe Lydon picked up an ankle injury and he would be eventually replaced by Alan Tait in the second half. The Lions would also lose centre Gary Connolly to a leg injury which would see him replaced by a formerWelshrugby union international, John Devereux.[4]
At half time, formerWelsh rugby union international turnedWidnes outside backJohn Devereux replacedGary Conolly with theSt Helens centre succumbing to an ankle injury picked up just before halftime. For the Kangaroos, 2nd rowerPaul Sironen had suffered a back injury late in the first half and was replaced by David Gillespie.
Into the second half the match was becoming a struggle with neither team seriously threatening the others line. The closest either team came to scoring was when Australian winger Willie Carne looked to have scored in the corner but the final pass from Meninga was ruled forward. The home side were still leading 6–4 with only 12 minutes remaining.[5] The onlytry of the match was then set up by Australian replacement back Kevin Walters who, with a clever cut-out pass, put his Brisbane Broncos teammate Steve Renouf into a gap created by replacement Lions centre John Devereux moving up and taking no–one (Walters had replaced lock forward Bradley Clyde who left the field with a dislocated shoulder with Brad Fittler moved to lock forward). Renouf, in his debut test for Australia, then raced 20 metres to score in the corner before replacement fullbackAlan Tait andShaun Edwards, who had earlier in the half spent 10 minutes in the sin-bin for kneeing Renouf after making a tackle on the debutant Australian, could come across in cover.[6] Meninga's sideline conversion of Renouf's try gave Australia what would be a match winning 10–6 lead. Following Meninga's conversion, the dark clouds that had moved in over Wembley opened up and the rain started pouring, not stopping until after the final siren (it would actually begin to hail immediately after the match finished). Despite the change in weather, Australia was able to hold Great Britain out and maintain their lead until the final siren.
Australian hooker Steve Walters was named the man-of-the-match for the 1992 World Cup final.[7]
The match was broadcast into the United Kingdom by theBBC with commentary fromRay French andAlex Murphy.
The match was telecast live late at night throughout Australia on theNine Network, with commentary provided byRay Warren and former Australian test playersPeter Sterling andPaul Vautin, with sideline comments fromChris Bombolas. The game broke Australia's midnight-to-dawn television ratings record which was set a year earlier by the rugby union's1991 Rugby World Cup final in whichAustralia had defeatedEngland atTwickenham Stadium inLondon.[8]
