1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup
9th Rugby League World Cup tournament / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1985–1988 Rugby League World Cup (sometimes shortened to 1988 Rugby League World Cup) was the ninth edition of the Rugby League World Cup. Unlike previous World Cups that were held over a couple of months, this World Cup was held over the course of three years with teams playing each other on a home and away basis.
1985–1988 (1985–1988) World Cup () | |
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Number of teams | 5 |
Winner | ![]() |
Matches played | 18 |
Attendance | 218,246 (12,125 per match) |
Points scored | 769 (42.72 per match) |
Top scorer | ![]() |
Top try scorer | ![]() |
World Cup games were fitted into the normal international programme of three-match test series between the nations, with a pre-designated match from each series counting as the world cup fixture. The tournament culminated in the 1988 Rugby League World Cup final.
France were unable to fulfil their 1987 tour of Australasia due to financial difficulties, and had to forfeit away fixtures against Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, who were invited to participate for the first time.[1].
At the end of four years, Australia finished top of the table, and, through a victory over Great Britain in Christchurch, the Kiwis qualified to join them in the final. Despite finishing top of the table, poor international attendances since the mid-1970s meant the Australians declined to host the final, and asked New Zealand Rugby League to host the World Cup final at Eden Park in Auckland; Cup organisers and New Zealand officials accepted this request.
In front of a record New Zealand attendance of over 47,000 the Kiwis lost 25–12 to the Australians.