1957 Rugby League World Cup squads
This page list all the four squads which took part to the 1957 Rugby League World Cup.
Team photos
[edit]The Rugby League News published team photos of each country: Australia, France, Great Britain and New Zealand
Australia
[edit]Dick Poole was appointed Captain/Coach of the Australian team. Norman 'Latchem' Robinson was team manager.[1]
The squad was selected from four interstate matches played on 22, 25 May, June 4th and 8th, all of which were comfortably won by New South Wales (margins of 38, 17, 64 and 33). A second trial match was played on 8 June, between Metropolitan and Northern teams, from which Barnes, McCaffery and Schofield were selected in Australia's World Cup squad.
Carlson, Davies, Watson and the unused Tyquin were selected from Queensland clubs. Hawick and Schofield were selected from clubs in New South Wales Country areas. The balance of the squad were playing for Sydney-based clubs during the 1957 season.
Brian Carlson's contract as captain-coach of Blackall was terminated by that club due to his decision to participate in the World Cup tournament.[2]
| Player | Position | Age | Weight st.lb (kg) | Club | Games | Tries | Goals | FG | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keith Barnes | Fullback | 22 | 11.7 (73) |  Balmain | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 10 |
| Brian Carlson | Utility Back | 24 | 13.2 (83) |  Blackall | 3 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 28 |
| Brian Clay | Five-eighth, Lock | 23 | 13.6 (85) |  St George | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Brian Davies | Prop | 27 | 15.0 (95) |  Brisbane Brothers | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Greg Hawick | Five-eighth | 25 | 13.6 (85) |  Wagga Kangaroos | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Keith Holman | Halfback | 31 | 11.9 (74) | Western Suburbs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Kearney | Hooker | 33 | 14.0 (89) | St George | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Marsh | Prop | 28 | 15.3 (97) | Balmain | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Ken McCaffery | Halfback | 28 | 13.0 (83) |  North Sydney | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Ian Moir | Wing | 24 | 11.7 (73) |  South Sydney | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Kel O'Shea | Second-row | 23 | 15.0 (95) | Western Suburbs | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Dick Poole | Centre | 26 | 13.2 (83) |  Newtown | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Norm Provan | Second-row | 24 | 15.6 (98) | St George | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Don Schofield | Lock | 26 | 13.10 (87) |  Muswellbrook | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Watson | Wing | 25 | 13.10 (87) |  Brisbane Western Suburbs | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Harry Wells | Centre | 25 | 14.0 (89) | Western Suburbs | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Squad members who did not play in the tournament.
| Player | Position | Age | Weight st.lb (kg) | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ray Ritchie | Wing | 20 | 12.0 (76) |  Manly-Warringah |
| Tom Tyquin | Second-row | 24 | 14.6 (92) | South Brisbane |
France
[edit]The French team was coached by Jean Duhau and René Duffort and managed by Antoine Blain.[3]
The Rugby League News included team lists for the matches against Great Britain and Australia.
At the conclusion of the tournament France played a match against Southern New South Wales in Wagga.[4] They subsequently played a three match series against Great Britain in South Africa.[5]
The French squad was:[6]
Great Britain
[edit]The team was managed by Bill Fallowfield and Hector Elsworth Rawson, but no coach was appointed.[1][7] The team was captained by Alan Prescott, with Phil Jackson as vice-captain.[8]
The Rugby League News published details of the touring team including each player's occupation, age, height and weight.[9] The same Sydney-based match-day program publication included team lists for the matches against France and New Zealand.
English representative Phil Jackson was born in Canada. Boston, Harris, Jones, Moses and Price were representatives from Wales, and Tom McKinney from Northern Ireland.[8]
Prior to the commencement of the tournament, Great Britain played a match against Western Australia in Perth.[3][10]
| Player | Position | Age | Weight st.lb (kg) | Club | Games | Tries | Goals | FG | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Eric Ashton | Wing, Centre | 22 | 13.6 (85 kg) |  Wigan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 Billy Boston | Wing | 22 | 14.8 (93 kg) | Wigan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Alan Davies | Centre | 24 | 13.6 (85 kg) |  Oldham | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Grundy | Second-row | 30 | 14.9 (93 kg) |  Barrow | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Geoff Gunney | Second-row | 23 | 14.10 (93 kg) |  Hunslet | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tommy Harris | Hooker | 30 | 13.0 (83 kg) |  Hull | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 Phil Jackson (vc) | Centre | 24 | 14.3 (90 kg) | Barrow | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Lewis Jones | Centre | 26 | 12.0 (76 kg) |  Leeds | 3 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 23 |
| Sid Little | Prop | 25 | 14.8 (93 kg) | Oldham | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
 Tom McKinney | Hooker | 30 | 14.7 (92 kg) |  St Helens | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Glyn Moses | Fullback | 29 | 13.0 (83 kg) | St Helens | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alan Prescott (c) | Prop | 30 | 16.0 (102 kg) | St Helens | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Austin Rhodes | Five-eighth, Halfback | 20 | 11.6 (73 kg) | St Helens | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeff Stevenson | Halfback | 25 | 9.10 (62 kg) | Leeds | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Mick Sullivan | Wing | 23 | 11.9 (74 kg) |  Huddersfield | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Derek Turner | Lock | 24 | 13.6 (85 kg) | Oldham | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Johnny Whiteley | Lock | 26 | 14.8 (93 kg) | Hull | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The following player was selected in the squad but did not play in the tournament.
| Player | Position | Age | Weight st.lb (kg) | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raymond Price | Five-eighth | 33 | 11.12 (75 kg) |  Warrington |
New Zealand
[edit]The team was coached by Bill Telford (Auckland), with Keith Blow (Canterbury) as manager.[11] [3]
The Rugby League News published details of the touring team including each player's occupation, age, height and weight.[12] The same publication included team lists for the match against Great Britain.
| Player | Position | Age | Weight st.lb (kg) | Region | Games | Tries | Goals | FG | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ron Ackland | Centre | 22 | 13. 13 (88) |  Auckland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vern Bakalich | Wing | 27 | 11. 7 (73) | Auckland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sel Belsham | Halfback | 22 | 13. 2 (83) | Auckland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jock Butterfield | Hooker | 25 | 14. 5 (91) | Canterbury | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pat Creedy | Fullback | 29 | 12. 0 (76) | Canterbury | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Reese Griffiths | Wing | 19 | 12. 7 (79) | West Coast | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Hadfield | Wing | 22 | 12. 7 (79) | Auckland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Cliff Johnson (c) | Second-row | 28 | 15. 8 (99) | Auckland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Henry Maxwell | Prop | 25 | 16. 2 (103) | Auckland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill McLennan | Prop | 29 | 15. 10 (100) | West Coast | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| George Menzies (vc) | Five-eighth | 26 | 11. 4 (72) | West Coast | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Kevin Pearce | Second-row | 21 | 13. 8 (86) | Canterbury | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rex Percy | Lock | 23 | 13. 7 (86) | Auckland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Riddell | Second-row | 27 | 13. 8 (86) | Auckland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Bill Sorensen | Centre | 25 | 13. 6 (85) | Auckland | 3 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 21 |
| George Turner | Centre | 25 | 11. 11 (75) | Auckland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| John Yates | Second-row | 26 | 15. 10 (100) | Auckland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The following selected players did not play in the tournament.
| Player | Position | Age | Weight st.lb (kg) | Province |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keith Bell | Utility Back | 22 | 13. 2 (83) | Auckland |
| Neville Denton | Wing | Auckland |
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b New South Wales Rugby Football League. (1920). "Managers Of To-Day'S Big Teams". The Rugby League News. 38 (13 (17 June 1957)). Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League. nla.obj-761502053. Retrieved 21 January 2020 – via Trove.
- ^ New South Wales Rugby Football League. (1920). "Stars Look Ahead". The Rugby League News. 28 (15 (23 June 1957)). Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League. nla.obj-761572854. Retrieved 19 January 2021 – via Trove.
- ^ a b c New South Wales Rugby Football League. (1920). "World Cup Next Week". The Rugby League News. 38 (11 (8 June 1957)). Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League. nla.obj-760978305. Retrieved 21 January 2020 – via Trove.
- ^ "French Win At Wagga". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 4 July 1957. p. 21. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- ^ "Rugby League Win For U.K." The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 29 July 1957. p. 11. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- ^ "World Cup 1957 - Squads - Rugby League Project".
- ^ New South Wales Rugby Football League. (1920). "Says Coach Would Have Aided Great Britain". The Rugby League News. 38 (31 (1 October 1957)). Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League. nla.obj-629240991. Retrieved 21 January 2020 – via Trove.
- ^ a b New South Wales Rugby Football League. (1920). "Five Welshmen In British Team". The Rugby League News. 38 (16 (25 June 1957)). Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League. nla.obj-760894548. Retrieved 19 January 2021 – via Trove.
- ^ New South Wales Rugby Football League. (1920). "British Lions To Defend Cup". The Rugby League News. 38 (13 (17 June 1957)). Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League. nla.obj-759044353. Retrieved 19 January 2021 – via Trove.
- ^ "British Rugby Team Beats W.A. 66 to 5". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 10 June 1957. p. 6. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- ^ New South Wales Rugby Football League. (1920). "New Zealand Team Leaders, 1957". The Rugby League News. 38 (16 (25 June 1957)). Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League. nla.obj-760894692. Retrieved 21 January 2020 – via Trove.
- ^ New South Wales Rugby Football League. (1920). "New Zealand's World Cup Team 1957". The Rugby League News. 38 (16 (25 June 1957)). Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League. nla.obj-760894637. Retrieved 19 January 2021 – via Trove.
External links
[edit]- 1957 Rugby League World Cup Squads rugbyleagueproject.org