Group stage 1989 The first match of the 1989–1992 World Cup was also the 3rd test of the
1989 Trans-Tasman Test series which was won 3–0 by Australia
1990 This match was also the 3rd and deciding test of the
1990 Ashes series.
1991 This match was also the 3rd and deciding test of the
1991 Trans-Tasman series. Australian winger
Willie Carne crossed for a hat trick of tries in Port Moresby.
1992 In addition to being an allocated World Cup match, this was the third, deciding test of the
1992 Ashes series. This six-point margin of defeat meant that New Zealand would need to beat Papua New Guinea by 109 points in the following match to prevent a Great Britain-Australia World Cup final in October.
Final This match set a new world record attendance for a rugby league international of 73,631, beating the previous record of 70,204 set at the
Sydney Cricket Ground during the
1932 Ashes series. As they had done in
1988, Australia won the right to host the World Cup final. However, in the interests of rugby league, and the potential for a much larger attendance since at the time
Lang Park in
Brisbane could only hold 33,000, and the
Sydney Football Stadium could only seat 42,000, the
ARL agreed to Great Britain hosting the final at the 82,000 capacity Wembley. Unlike 1988 when Australia had agreed to let New Zealand host the Final at
Eden Park in
Auckland due to dwindling international attendances in Australia, the international game had become popular again over the next four years (mainly due to much improved performances by Great Britain and New Zealand) and there was a good chance of sell-out crowd in either Brisbane or
Sydney for the game. However, the potential for an attendance at Wembley that would be almost or more than double the size that could be seen in Australia, and the potential exposure from playing the game at one of the world's most iconic stadiums, could not be ignored. Both coaches picked experienced teams, with only Australian's Tim Brasher (fullback) and Steve Renouf (centre) making their international debut in the game. With incumbent fullback
Andrew Ettingshausen unavailable through injury, Australian coach Bob Fulton preferred utility outside back Brasher over
Newcastle Knights fullback
Brad Godden due to Brasher's previous big game experience having played in
Balmain's
1989 Grand Final loss as well as making his
State of Origin debut
earlier in the year. Fulton also chose seven members from the
Brisbane Broncos 1992 Winfield Cup premiership winning team including exciting centre Renouf. Lions coach Mal Reilly chose to retain Garry Schofield as captain despite the presence of Ellery Hanley in the team. He also went with pace on the wings with Martin Offiah and
St. Helens flyer Alan Hunte. The hard-fought final was a one-try affair, with Great Britain leading 6–4 with only 12 minutes remaining. The only
try of the match was then set up by Australian replacement back Kevin Walters, who, with a clever cut-out pass, put his Broncos teammate Steve Renouf into a gap not covered by replacement Lions centre John Devereux. Renouf, in his debut test for Australia, then raced 20 metres to score in the corner. Otherwise, the two teams' kickers (Mal Meninga and Deryck Fox) were called upon to score most of the points, including Meninga's pressure sideline conversion of Renouf's try. The rain started pouring in the second half and Australia was able to hold Great Britain out and maintain their lead until the final siren. Australia's triumph saw them win their fourth World Cup in a row after winning the previous cups in
1975,
1977 and
1988. It also ended a mini-hoodoo for the Kangaroos at London's Wembley Stadium. Australia had previously left the arena 21–12 losers in 1973, and the
1990 Kangaroos were outplayed by Great Britain 19–12, but when it mattered most this time around Australia proved themselves as worthy World Cup champions. The match was telecast live late at night throughout Australia on the
Nine Network, with commentary provided by
Ray Warren,
Peter Sterling and
Paul Vautin, with sideline comments from
Chris Bombolas. The game broke Australia's midnight-to-dawn television ratings record which was set a year earlier by the
rugby union's
1991 Rugby World Cup final. ==Try scorers==