The 1995 Rugby League World Cup was held during October in the United Kingdom. It was the eleventh staging of the Rugby League World Cup and was marketed as the Halifax Centenary World Cup, reflecting the tournament's sponsorship and the fact that 1995 marked the 100th birthday of the sport. Envisaged as a celebration of rugby league football, the size of the competition was doubled, with four additional teams invited and Great Britain split into England and Wales. (Scotland and Ireland took part in the Emerging Nations Tournament that was held alongside the World Cup.)
The tournament had been preceded by doubts and pessimism; many feared that it would produce one-sided-matches that would be unattractive to supporters. The forthcoming Super League war hung over the tournament, with the Australian Rugby League refusing to select players who had signed for the rival competition.
In the event, the fears proved unfounded, and the tournament was acclaimed a great success. Although many early matches did prove as one-sided as feared, fans still flocked to see newer rugby league nations such as Fiji, Tonga and South Africa. Large home crowds for the group involving Wales proved particularly encouraging for the sport.
The final between Australia and England drew a crowd of 66,540 to Wembley Stadium. Australia won the tournament, their eighth World Cup win.
Read more about 1995 Rugby League World Cup: Teams, Venues, Knockout Stage, World Cup Final
Famous quotes containing the words league, world and/or cup:
“Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
“Forward the Light Brigade!”
—Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892)
“Man lives in a world of surmise, of mystery, of uncertainties.”
—John Dewey (1859–1952)
“I believe that water is the only drink for a wise man: wine is not so noble a liquor; and think of dashing the hopes of a morning with a cup of warm coffee, or of an evening with a dish of tea! Ah, how low I fall when I am tempted by them! Even music may be intoxicating. Such apparently slight causes destroyed Greece and Rome, and will destroy England and America.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)