1954 Rugby League World Cup squads
The 1954 Rugby League World Cup featured the national teams (selected from eighteen-man squads) of four nations.
Statistics
Match details - listing surnames of each team and the point scorers - were included in E.E. Christensen's Official Rugby League Yearbook, as was a summary of the players' point-scoring.[1] This information is reflected in the Rugby League Project website.
Australia
For Australian players, the World Cup tournament took place in 1954's post-season. Their coach was Vic Hey[2] The team was managed by Spencer O'Neill of Parramatta, NSW and Jack McMahon of Queensland.[3]
The Rugby League News published details of the touring team including each player's age and weight.[4]
Banks, Davies, Flannery, Hall, McCaffery, O'Shea and Watson were selected from Queensland clubs. Pidding was selected from clubs in New South Wales Country areas. This lineup of the squad played for Sydney-based clubs during the 1954 season.
| Player | Position | Age | Weight st.lb (kg) | Club | Games | Tries | Goals | FG | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Banks | Five-eighth | 23 | 12.10 (81) |  Toowoomba Newtown | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Roy Bull | Prop | 25 | 14.7 (92) |  Manly-Warringah | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Clive Churchill | Fullback | 27 | 11.7 (73) |  South Sydney | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Harold Crocker | Second-row | 25 | 15.0 (95) |  Parramatta | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Davies | Prop, Second-row | 23 | 14.12 (94) |  Booval Swifts | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Diversi | Lock | 22 | 14.4 (91) |  North Sydney | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Denis Flannery | Wing | 25 | 13.8 (86) |  Ipswich Brothers | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Duncan Hall | Prop | 28 | 14.12 (94) |  Brisbane Western Suburbs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Hawick | Utility Back | 22 | 13.5 (85) | South Sydney | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Keith Holman | Halfback | 27 | 11.9 (74) |  Western Suburbs | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Kearney | Hooker | 28 | 13.9 (87) |  St George | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Ken McCaffery | Five-eighth | 24 | 13.0 (83) |  Toowoomba Souths | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ian Moir | Wing | 22 | 11.4 (72) | South Sydney | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kel O'Shea | Second-row | 21 | 15.1 (96) | Ayr | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Noel Pidding | Wing | 27 | 12.0 (76) | Maitland | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Norm Provan | Second-row | 22 | 15.1 (96) | St George | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Watson | Centre | 22 | 13.4 (84) | Brisbane Western Suburbs | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Harry Wells | Centre | 22 | 14.2 (90) | Wollongong | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
New Zealand
- Manager: Tom McKenzie (West Coast)
- Coach: Jim Amos (Canterbury)
The Rugby League News published details of the Kiwi touring team including each player's provincial team, weight, height, ageand occupation.[5]
| Player | Position | Age | Weight st.lb (kg) | Province | Games | Tries | Goals | FG | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Anderson | Fullback | 27 | 12. 1 (77) |  Auckland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alister Atkinson | Lock | 28 | 12. 10 (81) | Canterbury | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Austin | Wing, Centre | 24 | 12. 2 (77) | Auckland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lory Blanchard | Hooker | 30 | 14. 3 (90) | Canterbury | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Bond | Prop, Second-row | 22 | 14. 7 (92) | Canterbury | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Jock Butterfield | Second-row | 22 | 14. 0 (89) | Canterbury | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Neville Denton | Fullback | 20 | 12. 0 (76) | Auckland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cyril Eastlake (c) | Wing, Centre | 24 | 11. 9 (74) | Auckland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Jimmy Edwards | Wing | 27 | 12. 0 (76) | Auckland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Len Eriksen | Halfback | 27 | 10. 0 (64) | Auckland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Ian Grey | Fullback | 23 | 12. 7 (79) | Auckland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cliff Johnson | Prop | 25 | 14. 3 (90) | Auckland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| George McDonald | Second-row | 20 | 13. 10 (87) |  South Auckland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron McKay | Centre | 22 | 12. 9 (80) |  Taranaki | 3 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 21 |
| Bill McLennan | Prop | 26 | 15. 10 (100) |  West Coast | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| George Menzies | Wing | 23 | 11. 4 (72) | West Coast | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Sorensen | Five-eighth | 22 | 13. 4 (84) | Auckland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Yates | Second-row | 24 | 14. 11 (94) | Auckland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Great Britain
For British players, the World Cup tournament took place during the 1954–55 Northern Rugby Football League season. Their coach was Mr Gideon Shaw.
The Rugby League News published the selected British touring team.[6] The following seven players listed in this article did not play a match in the tournament: Billy Boston (Wigan), Willie Horne (Barrow), Geoff Gunney (Hunslet), W. Banks, Ron Rylance (Huddersfield), Alvin Ackerley (Halifax) and Johnny Whiteley (Hull).
English representative Phil Jackson was born in Canada. David Rose and captain Dave Valentine were representatives from Scotland, and John Thorley from Wales.
| Player | Position | Club | Games | Tries | Goals | FG | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Gordon Brown | Five-eighth |  Leeds | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Bob Coverdale | Prop |  Hull | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gerry Helme | Halfback |  Warrington | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
 Phil Jackson | Centre |  Barrow | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Frank Kitchen | Wing |  Leigh | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| Jimmy Ledgard | Fullback | Leigh | 4 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 29 |
| Albert Naughton | Centre | Warrington | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Robinson | Second-row |  Wakefield Trinity | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 David Rose | Wing | Leeds | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Sam Smith | Hooker |  Hunslet | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mick Sullivan | Wing |  Huddersfield | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 John Thorley | Prop |  Halifax | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Valentine (c) | Lock | Huddersfield | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Basil Watts | Second-row |  York | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
France
Coaches: Jean Duhau and René Duffort The French squad was:[7]
Note: The Rugby League Project has Roger Guilhem playing one match and Gilbert Verdié two, whilst EE Chistensen's Official Rugby League Yearbook has Roger Guilhem playing two matches (the round matches against Great Britain and Australia) and Gilbert Verdié playing one match (the Final against Great Britain).
References
- ^ E.E.Christensen (1954). "World Cup". E.E. Christensen's Official Rugby League Yearbook. 8. Sydney: E.E.Christensen.
- ^ AAP (24 October 1954). "R.L. Cup team fit but tired". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australia. p. 8. Retrieved 25 December 2009.
- ^ New South Wales Rugby Football League. (1920). "Cup Tour Manager Has Given Service To League". The Rugby League News. 35 (23 (31 July 1954)). Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League. nla.obj-642592258. Retrieved 18 Jan 2021 – via Trove.
- ^ New South Wales Rugby Football League. (1920). "Australians For France". The Rugby League News. 35 (32 (1 October 1951)). Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League. nla.obj-642649963. Retrieved 18 Jan 2021 – via Trove.
- ^ New South Wales Rugby Football League. (1920). "New Faces In Kiwi Tourists". The Rugby League News. 35 (32 (1 October 1951)). Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League. nla.obj-642649847. Retrieved 18 Jan 2021 – via Trove.
- ^ New South Wales Rugby Football League. (1920). "British Team For France". The Rugby League News. 35 (32 (1 October 1951)). Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League. nla.obj-642650989. Retrieved 18 Jan 2021 – via Trove.
- ^ "World Cup 1954 - Squads - Rugby League Project".
