1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup
| 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup | |
|---|---|
| Number of teams | 5 |
| Winner |
 Australia (7th title)
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| Matches played | 21 |
| Attendance | 300,059 (14,289 per match) |
| Points scored | 834 (39.71 per match) |
| Top scorer |
Mal Meninga (70) |
| Top try scorer |
Mal Meninga (7) |
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1995 >
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The 1989–1992 Rugby League World Cup was the tenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup, and continued to use the three-year format, stretching across the years 1989 to 1992. As with the 1985–1988 World Cup, teams played each other on a home-and-away basis. These matches were fitted into the normal international programme of three-match test series between the nations, with a pre-designated match from each series counting as the World Cup fixture.
The matches went strictly to form, with Australia undefeated and certain to claim a world cup final berth as early as 1991. France and Papua New Guinea were uncompetitive, leading to a straight fight between New Zealand and Great Britain for the right to meet the Kangaroos in the final. In the event the Lions were able to just edge out the Kiwis on points difference.
The final, at Wembley, was a surprisingly close affair, with Great Britain leading with only 12 minutes to go. The game's only try was then scored by Steve Renouf and Australia were able to claim their fourth consecutive World Cup title before a record crowd of 73,631.
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 at Wembley in October.
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.
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