| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host nation |  France |
| Dates | 30 October – 13 November |
| No. of nations | 4 (reduced from 5) |
| Final positions | |
Champions  |  Great Britain (1st title) |
Runner-up  | France |
Third place  |  Australia |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 7 |
| Attendance | 138,329 (19,761 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Jimmy Ledgard (29) |
| Most tries | Gordon Brown (6) |
1957 → | |
The 1954 Rugby League World Cup was rugby league's first World Cup and was held between 30 October and 13 November and hosted by France[1] and was won by Great Britain who beat France in the final at the Parc des Princes in Paris.[2] As it was the first official World Cup of either rugby code it was officially known as the Rugby World Cup.[3]
Five nations were invited to compete: Australia, France, Great Britain, New Zealand and USA (However the USA would withdraw before the tournament began).
The prime instigators behind the idea of holding a rugby league world cup were the French, who were short of money following the seizing of their assets by French rugby union in 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.[4]
- ^ 1954 World Cup Archived 13 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine at rugbyleagueplanet.com
- ^ 1954 World Cup at rugbyleagueproject.org
- ^ SPARC, 2009: 28
- ^ RLIF. "Past Winners: 1954". Rugby League International Federation. Archived from the original on 12 October 2008. Retrieved 25 October 2008.