View source for 1954 Rugby League World Cup

{{Short description|1st Rugby League World Cup tournament}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox Rugby World Cup
| logo             = 
| logosize         = 130px
| other_titles     =
| datefrom         = 30 October
| dateto           = 13 November 
| host             = France
| jointhost1       = 
| nations          = 4 (reduced from 5)
| champion         = {{rl|GB}}
| count = 1
| runnerup         = {{rl|France}}
| third            = {{rl|Australia}}
| matches          = 7
| attendance       = 138329
| apm              = 
| top_scorer       = {{flagdeco|GBR}} [[Jimmy Ledgard]] (29)
| most_tries       = {{nowrap|{{flagdeco|GBR}} [[Gordon Brown (rugby league)|Gordon Brown]] (6)}}
| next             = [[1957 Rugby League World Cup|1957]]
}}

The '''1954 Rugby League World Cup''' was [[rugby league]]'s first [[Rugby League World Cup|World Cup]] and was held between 30 October and 13 November and hosted by France<ref>[http://www.rugbyleagueplanet.com/RLP/Worldcup/1954worldcup.htm 1954 World Cup] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090713072347/http://www.rugbyleagueplanet.com/RLP/Worldcup/1954worldcup.htm |date=13 July 2009 }} at ''rugbyleagueplanet.com''</ref> and was won by [[Great Britain national rugby league team|Great Britain]] who beat [[France national rugby league team|France]] in the final at the [[Parc des Princes]] in [[Paris]].<ref>[http://rugbyleagueproject.org/competitions/World_Cup_1954.html 1954 World Cup] at ''rugbyleagueproject.org''</ref> As it was the first official World Cup of either [[Rugby football|rugby code]], it was officially known as the '''Rugby World Cup'''.<ref name="SPARC-2009-p28">[[#SPARC-2009|SPARC, 2009]]: 28</ref>

Five nations were invited to compete: [[Australia national rugby league team|Australia]], [[France national rugby league team|France]], [[Great Britain national rugby league team|Great Britain]], [[New Zealand national rugby league team|New Zealand]] and [[USA national rugby league team|the United States]], however the United States withdrew before the group stage draw.

The prime instigators behind the idea of holding a rugby league world cup were the French, who were short of money following the [[History of rugby league#The thirties and the Second World War|seizure of their assets]] by [[French Rugby Federation|French rugby union]] during the Second World War.

The first Rugby League World Cup was an unqualified success. It was played in a uniformly good spirit, provided an excellent standard of play and was a fitting celebration of France's 20th anniversary as a rugby league-playing nation. The trophy, which was donated by the French, was worth eight million francs.<ref name="RLIF1">{{cite web|url=http://www.rlwc08.com/about/pastwinners.aspx?article=1954 |publisher=Rugby League International Federation |title=Past Winners: 1954 |author=RLIF |access-date=25 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012230118/http://www.rlwc08.com/about/pastwinners.aspx?article=1954 |archive-date=12 October 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Background ==
{{more citations needed section|date=November 2014}}
[[File:Maillots de la Coupe du monde de rugby à XIII 1954.jpg|thumb|Shirts of the teams in 1954.]]
The World Cup was a French initiative. Led by [[Paul Barrière]], who donated the [[Rugby League World Cup trophy]] himself,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.188-rugby-league.co.uk/content/feedstory/world-cup-1954-0 |title=1954 World Cup |publisher=188 Rugby League |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226222201/http://www.188-rugby-league.co.uk/content/feedstory/world-cup-1954-0 |archive-date=26 February 2012}} at ''188-rugby-league.co.uk''</ref> they had been campaigning for such a tournament since before the Second World War.

The uncertainty of the ultimate outcome was of particular interest. In the early 1950s all four competing nations were quite capable of beating each other – no test series in the period was a foregone conclusion.

If there were a favourite it was Australia who had just won back the Ashes. However, in 1953 they had lost series to both the French and the Kiwis, while Great Britain had defeated New Zealand on the second half of their 1954 Australasian tour.

The form book merely provided a conundrum which was made more confusing when the British were forced, through injuries and players making themselves unavailable, to select a raw and largely untried squad which was given little credibility by the cynics.

The captains for this historic event were [[Puig-Aubert]] (France), [[Cyril Eastlake]] (New Zealand), [[Clive Churchill]] (Australia) and [[Dave Valentine]] (Britain). The referees were Warrington's [[Charlie Appleton]] and [[Rene Guidicelli]] (Perpignan).

== Participants == 
{{Further|1954 Rugby League World Cup squads}}
Five teams were invited to participate in the first World Cup; Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand and the United States along with hosts, France.<ref>{{cite news
| last = AAP
| title = World Cup Suggestion
| work = The Sydney Morning Herald
| place =Australia
| page = 7
| date = 19 January 1953
| url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CbAUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=froDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2635,2047144
| access-date = 25 December 2009}}</ref> There were concerns around the United States participation. The American All Stars who had toured Australia and New Zealand and drawn big crowds in 1953 but were heavily beaten in all their games as well as being beaten 31–0 by France in 1954.<ref>{{cite web |title=France vs. United States of America |url=http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/matches/dates/9-january-1954/france-vs-usa.html |website=Rugby League Project |access-date=13 October 2018}}</ref>  This led to doubts around whether an American team would be competitive enough to compete with the United States withdrawing from the tournament. It had been suggested that Wales could replace the United States but were not invited as Great Britain were already participating.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ferguson |first1=Andrew |title=The French Barriere That Wouldn't Break |url=http://menofleague.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/MOL-issuu-53.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181014053133/http://menofleague.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/MOL-issuu-53.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 October 2018 |website=MenofLeague |access-date=13 October 2018 }}</ref>

{{col-begin}}
{{col-4}}
'''[[North America]] (0)'''
*<s>{{rl|USA|1912}}</s> (withdrew)
{{col-4}}
'''[[Europe]] (2)'''
*{{rl|FRA}} (hosts)
*{{rl|GB}}
{{col-4}}
'''[[Oceania]] (2)'''
*{{rl|AUS}}
*{{rl|NZL}}
{{col-4}}
{{col-end}}

== Venues ==
The games were played at various venues in France with the Final played at the [[Parc des Princes]] in [[Paris]].

{{Clear}}
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
! [[Marseille]]
! [[Paris]]
! [[Toulouse]] 
! [[Lyon]]
|-
| [[Stade Vélodrome]]
| [[Parc des Princes]]
| [[Stadium de Toulouse]]
| [[Stade de Gerland]]
|-
| Capacity: '''49,000'''
| Capacity: '''38,000'''
| Capacity: '''37,000'''
| Capacity: '''30,000'''
|-
| [[File:Le Stade vélodrome de Marseille, le 13 juin 1937.jpg|200px]]
| [[File:1932 Le parc des princes v1.jpg|200px]]
| [[File:Le Stade municipal de Toulouse (dit parc municipal des sports) en 1939 (maquette d'époque).jpg|200px]] 
| [[File:15PH1 657 - Stade de Gerland 1920s cropped.jpg|200px]]
|-
!rowspan=8 colspan=2|{{location map+ |float=middle|France|width=475 |places=
{{Location map~|France|mark=red pog.svg|lat=48.856667|long=2.350833|position=bottom|label=[[Paris]]}}
{{Location map~|France|mark=red pog.svg|lat=43.296386|long=5.369954|position=left|label=[[Marseille]]}}
{{Location map~|France|mark=red pog.svg|lat=43.583056|long=1.434167|position=left|label=[[Toulouse]]}}
{{Location map~|France|mark=red pog.svg|lat=45.723889|long=4.832222|position=top|label=[[Lyon]]}}
{{Location map~|France|mark=red pog.svg|lat=44.8386|long=-0.5783|position=right|label=[[Bordeaux]]}}
{{Location map~|France|mark=red pog.svg|lat=47.2125|long=-1.538333|position=top|label=[[Nantes]]}}}}
! colspan=2|[[Bordeaux]]
|-
|colspan=2| [[Stade Chaban-Delmas]]
|- 
|colspan=2| Capacity: '''30,000'''
|- 
|colspan=2| [[File:Stade Chaban-Delmas Rugby.jpg|300px]]
|-
! colspan=2| [[Nantes]]
|- 
|colspan=2| [[Stade Marcel-Saupin]]
|-
|colspan=2| Capacity: '''20,000''' 
|-
|colspan=2| [[File:Stade Marcel-Saupin, Nantes.JPG|300px]]
|}

==Group stage==
{{Main|1954 Rugby League World Cup group stage}}
{{#section-h:1954 Rugby League World Cup group stage|Ladder}}
{| style="width:100%;" cellspacing="1"
|-
!width=15%|
!width=25%|
!width=10%|
!width=25%|
|- style=font-size:90%
|align=right|30 October||align=right|{{Rl-rt|FRA|1794}}||align=center|[[1954 Rugby League World Cup group stage#France vs New Zealand|22–13]]||{{rl|NZL}}||[[Parc des Princes]], Paris
|}

{| style="width:100%;" cellspacing="1"
|-
!width=15%|
!width=25%|
!width=10%|
!width=25%|
|- style=font-size:90%
|align=right|31 October||align=right|{{Rl-rt|AUS}}||align=center|[[1954 Rugby League World Cup group stage#Australia vs Great Britain|13–28]]||{{rl|GBR}}||[[Stade de Gerland]], Lyon
|}

{| style="width:100%;" cellspacing="1"
|-
!width=15%|
!width=25%|
!width=10%|
!width=25%|
|- style=font-size:90%
|align=right| 7 November||align=right|{{Rl-rt|AUS}}||align=center|[[1954 Rugby League World Cup group stage#Australia vs New Zealand|34–15]]||{{rl|New Zealand}}||[[Stade Vélodrome]], Marseille
|}

{| style="width:100%;" cellspacing="1"
|-
!width=15%|
!width=25%|
!width=10%|
!width=25%|
|- style=font-size:90%
|align=right| 7 November||align=right|{{Rl-rt|FRA|1794}}||align=center|[[1954 Rugby League World Cup group stage#France vs Great Britain|13–13]]||{{rl|GBR}}||[[Stadium de Toulouse]], Toulouse
|}

{| style="width:100%;" cellspacing="1"
|-
!width=15%|
!width=25%|
!width=10%|
!width=25%|
|- style=font-size:90%
|align=right| 11 November||align=right|{{Rl-rt|FRA|1794}}||align=center|[[1954 Rugby League World Cup group stage#France vs Australia|15–5]]||{{rl|Australia}}||[[Stade Marcel Saupin]], Nantes
|}

{| style="width:100%;" cellspacing="1"
|-
!width=15%|
!width=25%|
!width=10%|
!width=25%|
|- style=font-size:90%
|align=right| 11 November||align=right|{{Rl-rt|GBR}}||align=center|[[1954 Rugby League World Cup group stage#Great Britain vs New Zealand|26–6]]||{{rl|New Zealand}}||[[Stade Chaban Delmas]], Bordeaux
|}

==Final==
{{Main|1954 Rugby League World Cup final}}

The 1954 Rugby League World Cup final was the conclusive game of the 1954 Rugby League World Cup tournament and was played between France and Great Britain on November 13, 1954, at Parc des Princes, Paris, France.
{{rugbyleaguebox
|date       = 13 November
|time       =  
|team1      = {{rl-rt|FRA}}
|score      = 12–16
|report     = [https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/matches/world-cup-1954/final/france-vs-great-britain.html Report]
|team2      = {{rl|GBR}}
|try1       = [[Raymond Contrastin]]<br>[[Vincent Cantoni]]
|goal1      = [[Puig Aubert]] (3)
|drop1      =  
|try2       = [[Gerry Helme]] <br>[[Gordon Brown (rugby league)|Gordon Brown]] (2)<br>[[David Rose (rugby)|David Rose]]
|goal2      = [[Jimmy Ledgard]] (2)
|drop2      =  
|stadium    = [[Parc des Princes]], [[Paris]]
|attendance = 30,368
|referee    = [[Charles Appleton (referee)|Charles Appleton]] ([[Rugby Football League|England]])
|referee2   =  
|manofmatch = [[Don Robinson (rugby league)|Don Robinson]] ([[Great Britain national rugby league team|Great Britain]])  
}}

== Try scorers ==
;6
* {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Gordon Brown (rugby league)|Gordon Brown]]
;5
{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}
* {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Raymond Contrastin]]
{{div col end}}
;4
{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}
* {{flagicon|GBR}} [[David Rose (rugby)|David Rose]]
{{div col end}}
;3
{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}
* {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Alex Watson (rugby league)|Alex Watson]]
* {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Gerry Helme]]
* {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Phil Jackson (rugby league, born 1932)|Phil Jackson]]
* {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Frank Kitchen]]
{{div col end}}
;2
{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}
* {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Ken Kearney]]
* {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Kel O'Shea]]
* {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Harry Wells (rugby league)|Harry Wells]]
* {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Vincent Cantoni]]
{{div col end}}
;1
{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}
* {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Roy Bull]]
* {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Peter Diversi]]
* {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Greg Hawick]]
* {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Jean Audoubert]]
* {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Joseph Crespo]]
* {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Guy Delaye]]
* {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Joseph Krawzyck]]
* {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Jacques Merquey]]
* {{flagicon|GBR}} [[Jimmy Ledgard]]
* {{flagicon|NZL}} [[Cyril Eastlake]]
* {{flagicon|NZL}} [[Jimmy Edwards (rugby league)|Jimmy Edwards]]
* {{flagicon|NZL}} [[Lenny Eriksen]]
* {{flagicon|NZL}} [[Ron McKay]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

=== General ===
* {{cite web|url=http://www.sparc.org.nz/Documents/media%20releases/NZRL-Independent-Review.pdf |title=Rugby League – Contributing to New Zealand's Future |author=Independent Review Committee |location=New Zealand |publisher=[[Sport and Recreation New Zealand|SPARC]] |date=February 2009 |access-date=13 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522180935/http://www.sparc.org.nz/Documents/media%20releases/NZRL-Independent-Review.pdf |archive-date=22 May 2010 |ref=SPARC-2009 |url-status=dead}}

{{Rlwc}}
{{1954 RLWC Venues}}

[[Category:1954 Rugby League World Cup| ]]
[[Category:October 1954 sports events in Europe|Rugby League World Cup]]
[[Category:November 1954 sports events in Europe|Rugby League World Cup]]
[[Category:International rugby league competitions hosted by France]]