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97-618: The idea of a rugby league World Cup tournament was first mooted in the 1930s with the French proposal to hold a tournament in 1931, and again in 1951. The tournament's structure, frequency, and size has varied significantly throughout its history. The winners are awarded the Paul Barrière Trophy , named after Paul Barrière , the French Rugby League President of the 1940s and 1950s. Three nations have won

194-408: A final challenge match was hastily arranged which Australia would win 25–0. In 1977, Great Britain competed again as a single entity. Although the final between Australia and Great Britain was a closely fought affair, public interest in the tournament waned due to the continuing tinkering with the format and it was not held again until the mid-1980s. From 1985 to 1988, each nation played each other

291-503: A golden point will be played. This will be temporary altered for the 2026 tournament due to its late rescheduling, the exact format to be used remains unknown. Due to the early World Cups being contested between Australia, England, France and New Zealand and the fact rugby league is most popular in these regions they have regularly hosted the World Cup between themselves. World Cups in 1985–88 and 1989–92 were all jointly hosted by

388-470: A bid, but would possibly require a delay to 2026. On 3 August, the IRL announced that the tournament would be postponed to 2026 and held in the southern hemisphere with only 10 teams taking part. It was later confirmed on 24 July 2024 that Australia would host the tournament with a number of games co-hosted by Papua New Guinea. With the announcement of the 2025 World Cup being moved to 2026 came confirmation that

485-450: A capacity of 5,000 hosted a game between Wales and Cook Islands . Despite this, it was not the lowest attended game; this was in the 2000 World Cup when just 1,497 attended the game between Wales and Lebanon at Stradey Park , Llanelli . The cities with the most stadiums used are Sydney and London with 4 each. Hull and Auckland are the cities with the next highest number with 3 each. Notes; In total, 21 teams have competed at

582-509: A cost of eight million francs, and then donated to the International Rugby League Board to be used for the inaugural competition in 1954. This trophy was used and presented to the winning nation for the first four tournaments, before being stolen in 1970. After its recovery, the trophy was reinstated for the 2000 tournament. Qualifying rounds were first introduced for the 2000 World Cup . Hosts and teams reaching

679-424: A cricket ground in 1903, and was due to the vision of one Harry Ryan, a cricket enthusiast who approached landowner John Walters to lease part of his land as a sports field. In the book Eden Park: A History , the authors write, "Certainly the rough paddock strewn with stones, studded with outcrops of rock and streaked with cowpats, falling away to a boggy trough that filled in a downpour and remained flooded throughout

776-434: A crowd of 40,000. The Auckland Rugby Football Union officially made Eden Park its home in 1925, and in 1926, a trust was set up to manage Eden Park primarily for the benefit of Auckland Cricket and Auckland Rugby. In 1930, the ground hosted its inaugural British and Irish Lions matches as part of the 1930 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia . Matches were held against Auckland and New Zealand sides, both won by

873-530: A crowd of 48,035. In 1988, Eden Park hosted the 1988 Rugby League World Cup final , with Australia defeating New Zealand 25 – 12 before a New Zealand rugby league record crowd of 47,363. This made Eden Park the only venue to have ever hosted (as of 2024) both the Rugby Union and Rugby League World Cup Finals and the only venue to do so in consecutive years. The 1988 World Cup Final was the first game of rugby league played at Eden Park since 1919. Eden Park

970-552: A home nation victory the World Cup suffered from poor crowds due to the live broadcast of games for the first time. After a disappointing attendances in 1960, the World Cup would not be played for another eight years. The competition had been scheduled to be held in France in 1965, this time with the inclusion of the South African team . However, after an unsuccessful tour of Australia, the French withdrew, effectively postponing

1067-426: A new city centre stadium. The redeveloped stadium was officially opened by New Zealand Prime Minister John Key on 10 October. The first event was a Rugby League Four Nations double header, including matches between England and Papua New Guinea , and Australia and New Zealand. The 2011 Rugby World Cup commenced on 9 September, with New Zealand defeating Tonga 41 – 10 before a crowd of 60,214. In addition to

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1164-477: A nominal capacity of 50,000, and is sometimes referred to as New Zealand's national stadium. The stadium is used primarily for rugby union in winter and cricket in summer, and has also hosted rugby league and association football matches, as well as concerts and cultural events. It is owned and operated by the Eden Park Trust Board, whose headquarters are located in the stadium. Eden Park

1261-411: A number of record events such as a crowd of 43,000 at the 1981–82 Australia Tour of New Zealand , where Australian batsman Greg Chappell dealing with an on ground streaker with his bat. An indoor cricket facility and stand were built next to the outer oval. At the inaugural Rugby World Cup , co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand in 1987, New Zealand defeated France 29 – 9 in the final in front of

1358-470: A number of times on a home and away basis with a number of these games also being considered part of various international tours that took place during the years in which these world cups were being played. At the end of that period, Australia met New Zealand at Eden Park . The match was a physical encounter, and Australian captain Wally Lewis played part of the match with a broken arm. The Kangaroos won

1455-420: A reward for the trophy's return, "anything except a place in the team" Howes joked, but the finder asked only for some match tickets. The original World Cup trophy was later brought back into use for the 2000 World Cup , minus the cockerel that had adorned it initially, and was presented to the victorious Australian team. The trophy featured again during the 2008 World Cup , when it was used prominently as

1552-413: A single round robin. Each team is awarded two points for a win and one point for a draw. The top two teams from each group qualify for the knockout stage. The eight teams in the quarter-finals play each other with the four winners progressing to the semi-finals before the World Cup final. If the teams are level after 80 minutes extra time will be played and if the two teams are still level after extra time,

1649-476: Is considered one of international rugby union's most difficult grounds for visiting sides. New Zealand's national rugby union team, nicknamed the All Blacks , have been unbeaten at this venue in 50 consecutive test matches stretching back to 1994. Eden Park is the site of the 2021 Te Matatini . It was the site for the 2022 Women's Cricket World Cup , the final of the 2021 Women's Rugby World Cup and staged

1746-408: Is required for the capacity to be reached. Due to sight-screens and the larger area required for cricket matches, cricket capacity is smaller. Prior to redevelopment, Eden Park had a crowd capacity of 45,472 for rugby and 42,000 for cricket . The redevelopment project included a three-tier South stand replacing the old South and West stands, with a capacity of 24,000, and a three-tier East replacing

1843-728: The 1950 British Empire Games , when the western part of the grounds were first opened. In 1955, New Zealand hosted England in the second test match of their 1954–55 Tour of New Zealand . During the same year, the New Zealand Parliament passed the Eden Park Trust Act, enshrining the governance structure of the park until 2009. By 1956, the West Stand was completed, followed by the South Stand in 1958. New Zealand won its first cricket test match against

1940-418: The 1975 Scotland rugby union tour of New Zealand , both teams famously played during a downpour on a completely saturated pitch, before the one-off test had to be cancelled as the drainage system was unable to cope with the flooding. During the 1981 Springbok Tour , a low-flying Cessna 172 piloted by Marx Jones and Grant Cole disrupted the final test by dropping flour-bombs on the pitch. The 1980s saw

2037-469: The 1992 Cricket World Cup including the semi-final between New Zealand and Pakistan , which Pakistan won by four wickets en route to winning the tournament after Inzamam-ul-Haq 's 60 off 37 in reply to Black Caps captain Martin Crowe's 91. It also hosted four matches during the 2015 Cricket World Cup , which was co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. The matches played included two pool B games and

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2134-508: The 2002 Ireland Tour of New Zealand . In 2003, the playing surface on the main oval was completely overhauled with the introduction of "Motz" turf. In 2007, the ground was confirmed by the New Zealand Government as the venue for the final of the 2011 Rugby World Cup , with redevelopment beginning in 2008. The ground was the subject of a hotly debated dilemma, as to whether the event should be hosted at historic Eden Park or

2231-582: The Bradford Bulls ), but he was unable to find the original owners. He subsequently handed the trophy in to the police, but it was returned to him 28 days later after no-one claimed it, and tried contacting Yorkshire Television 's Calendar programme but could not interest them in the story. Uttley consequently decided to donate it to a friend, Terry Fawthrop, who was the proprietor of the White Rose Health Club at Idle, Bradford,

2328-514: The English cricket tour in 2018 . In 2020, after 117 years, Eden Park sold week-long naming rights to longtime partner, ASB. As part of their commitment to small business in New Zealand, ASB gifted their naming rights to Coopers Catch, a small fish-and-chip shop from Kaikōura. In 2021, Eden Park was granted resource consent to host up to six concerts per year. Eden Park hosted a concert for

2425-457: The Final of the 1985-1988 Rugby League World Cup . The land where Eden Park stands was originally swampland, fed by lava caverns created by Maungawhau / Mount Eden and Mount Albert over 30,000 years ago. Tāmaki Māori used the swamp to collect food and materials. In 1845, the area was purchased by Cornish farmer John Walters. Eden Park has been a sports ground since 1900. The park began as

2522-757: The Rugby Football League . On 1 June 1990, the trophy was presented to Roger Millward of the RFL outside the White Rose health club in Bradford, before being taken to the RFL's headquarters in Leeds . Speaking on its return, RFL spokesman David Howes commented, "It is like the return of the Holy Grail. No-one knows what its value is, but in rugby league terms it is priceless". The RFL agreed to pay

2619-573: The Rugby League World Cup , being awarded to the victorious team of each tournament's final. It is named after Paul Barrière , president of the Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII from 1947 to 1955. The World Cup trophy was commissioned by French Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII president Paul Barrière at a cost of eight million francs, and then donated to the International Rugby League Board to be used for

2716-477: The Sydney Cricket Ground on 10 June 1968 to claim the fourth World Cup title. The stolen trophy was not the one which was due to be competed for and presented in the 1970 World Cup Final the following Saturday at Headingley , Leeds : with the commencement of sponsorship in the game, administrators had decided to play for a new sponsored trophy, with the original being kept safe and on display at

2813-496: The West Indies as part of the 1955–56 West Indies Tour of New Zealand . The ground hosted its third rugby international between New Zealand and South Africa. New Zealand won 11 – 5 before a record crowd of 63,000. The British and Irish Lions returned for the third time in the 1959 British Lions tour to Australia and New Zealand with matches against Auckland and New Zealand. The visitors win both, their first test match win at

2910-473: The perimeter fence , mean that the stadium has become more publicly accessible and a part of the neighbourhood. There were public concerns about the height of the new structure and its shading effect on many nearby houses. Auckland City Council received 470 submissions on the resource consent application, over 300 of which were in favour of the redevelopment. On 26 January 2007, Eden Park received resource consent with 91 conditions imposed. The consent permitted

3007-414: The women's and wheelchair competitions were given equal prominence with the men's tournament, as a result all three competition were run simultaneously for the first time. Australia again won the competition, beating final debutants Samoa 30–10. The 2021 tournament was the most watched rugby league world cup in history, and was regarded as a sporting, commercial, and social success by the IRL. A proposal

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3104-769: The 1987 Rugby WCF between the All Blacks and France 16 months earlier). Australia had won the right to host the final, but as international crowds in Australia had been dwindling in recent years due to the Kangaroos dominance (only 15,944 had attended the dead rubber Ashes series test between Australia and Great Britain at the Sydney Football Stadium three months earlier), the Australian Rugby League agreed to New Zealand hosting

3201-614: The 2000 and 2013 World Cups. Despite the World Cup mainly being hosted by England, Australia, France and New Zealand, countries such as UAE , South Africa and the United States and Canada have applied to host the tournament in the past. NB : As Great Britain was the IRL nation until 1995, the United Kingdom is used to refer to host nations before this time regardless of the number of home nations which actually hosted

3298-408: The 2014 NRL season. The Auckland Council takes over five of the nine spots on the Eden Park Trust Board, giving ratepayers control over the ground. In 2015, it hosted four matches during the 2015 Cricket World Cup , which was co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand including the first semi final between New Zealand and South Africa . The stadium hosted its first day night test match during

3395-739: The 74,468 crowd which attended the 2013 World Cup final at Old Trafford . The fifth nation to compete in these two tournaments was Papua New Guinea, where rugby league is the national, and most popular, sport. In 1995 , the competition was held in England and Wales. It was again restructured, returning to the traditional "host / co-host" format, and intended (like in 1954) to be a triennial competition. The tournament expanded to ten teams with Fiji, Samoa, South Africa, and Tonga making their world cup deputes. Great Britain had also split permanently into England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, although only England and Wales qualified. Unlike previous tournaments where

3492-837: The Auckland City Council and the Auckland Regional Council differed in their support for the new stadium, the Government changed to supporting the redevelopment of Eden Park, subject to suitable resolution of the design, funding and governance issues. Eden Park is the home ground for the Auckland Blues in Super Rugby and Auckland in the Mitre 10 Cup . The ground regularly hosts All Blacks rugby union test matches. Auckland first used

3589-489: The Outer Oval also hosts WODIs , domestic List A and Twenty20 games. It first hosted a test in 1930. The ground was also the host to New Zealand 's first Test victory, against West Indies in 1955–56 season. It has also been the scene of a dark day in New Zealand's cricket history when on 28 March 1955, the hosts collapsed to their lowest Test score (26 all out) against England . The ground hosted four matches during

3686-465: The Terraces. The number of covered seats increased from 23,000 to 38,000. The redeveloped Eden Park has an internal concourse that allows people to circulate around the grounds inside the stadium, and facilities including food and beverage outlets, toilets and corporate areas were incorporated. The open plan approach to the design and establishment of a community centre and green space, and the removal of

3783-485: The United States play in their first world cup. Australia took the title again after defeating New Zealand in the final by a score of 34–2. The final attendance became the record international rugby league attendance at 74,468. 2017 Rugby League World Cup taking place in Australia, New Zealand and for the first time in Papua New Guinea. While Australia would claim the title once again and for an eleventh time,

3880-418: The World Cup. Of these, only three have won the World Cup, with Australia being by far the most successful with 12 titles. Great Britain has won three titles, however since 1995 have competed separately as England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. New Zealand became only the third team to win the World Cup in 2008. England, France and Samoa are the only teams to have played in the final and not won. Wales' best result

3977-492: The association. In 1913 the park was leased to the Auckland Rugby Football Union, becoming both a summer and winter sporting venue, with the union leasing the venue initially for 21 years. The union agreed to pay to build the park's first grandstand, erected in 1913 to hold an audience of 2,500, and later followed by a second members' stand built in 1914. In 1914, the first international cricket match

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4074-559: The basis for the competition logo, and retained for 2013 and beyond, being named after Paul Barrière beginning from the 2017 World Cup . Eden Park 60,000 (Rugby union and league - with temporary seating) Eden Park is a sports venue in Auckland, New Zealand . It is located three kilometres southwest of the Auckland CBD , on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and Kingsland . The main stadium has

4171-464: The building of new stands in place of the terraces and south stand, but did not include consent for the NZ$ 385 million 'full option', which would have included covered seating. In September 2006 it was announced that instead of Eden Park, the Government and Auckland City Council were assessing the possibility of a new stadium on Auckland's waterfront to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup . This assessment

4268-401: The competition 25–12 in front of a capacity crowd of nearly 48,000 spectators. This format was repeated from 1989 to 1992 (with games once again also being part of tours) and Australia won again, defeating Great Britain 10–6 at Wembley Stadium in front of 73,361 people. This crowd remained a Rugby League World Cup record (and a record for any rugby league international match) until beaten by

4365-408: The competition reverting to a 10-team format. The tournament also moved from every three to every four years inline with most other major international sports competitions. Australia hosted the tournament and New Zealand were crowned champions for the first time by beating the host nation at Lang Park , Brisbane . The tournament was once again seen as a success with a 91% average attendance increase on

4462-403: The country. Unlike the previous tournament, teams played each other in a league format. It was then decided that the team that finished first in the league would be declared the winner. Australia proved victorious on their home ground. Another three years would pass until the next World Cup in 1960, this time held in England. It would be the second time Great Britain won the competition. Despite

4559-506: The field further, with sixteen teams entering. This tournament included a New Zealand Maori representative team, the only time this team has taken part, as well as debuts for the Cook Islands, Ireland, Russia, and Scotland. Australia won the tournament by beating New Zealand 40–12 in the final at Old Trafford , Manchester . In the same year, the first Women's Rugby League World Cup was held, with New Zealand defeating Great Britain in

4656-555: The final. New Zealand's overall Test match record at Eden Park against all nations, updated to 17 August 2024, is as follows: Note: Date shown in brackets indicates when the record was or last set. Eden Park hosted matches of the 1987 and 2011 Rugby World Cups including hosting the Final on both occasions. Eden Park is the home ground for the Auckland cricket team . The ground regularly hosts international fixtures, including Tests , ODIs and Twenty20 Internationals , while

4753-508: The final. Numerous issues, including poor organization and blown-out scorelines, meant that this tournament was seen as highly unsuccessful with an average attendance just half that of the previous tournament. Due to these problems the competition was put on indefinite hiatus and replaced with the Rugby League Tri-Nations . After the failure of the 2000 World Cup, no plans were made for another tournament until 2008 with

4850-425: The first day-night test in New Zealand, against England. England were bowled out for 58 in the first innings. It took New Zealand only 20.4 overs to dismiss England on the first day of the test match. Trent Boult and Tim Southee took six and four wickets each and bowled unchanged throughout the 20.4 overs. No other bowler was required to bowl. This was just the fourth instance that only 2 bowlers were required to dismiss

4947-597: The first time since 1975, headlined by the band Six60 to a sold-out crowd of about 50,000 attendees. The concert was also one of the biggest concerts in the world at the time, due to COVID-19 . Since then, the stadium has hosted concerts for touring artists and acts including Billy Joel , Guns N' Roses , Ed Sheeran , Pink , and Travis Scott . Eden Park is currently in the process of applying to double its concert quota to 12 concerts per year. Coldplay are set to play three sold-out shows at Eden Park in November 2024,

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5044-420: The following competition would be held in 2030. In the announcement International Rugby League confirmed that the tournament would be held once again as a stand alone competition with the women's and wheelchair tournaments held separately in 2028 and 2029 respectfully, all on a four-year cycle. The World Cup trophy was commissioned by French Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII president Paul Barrière at

5141-403: The format of the qualification tournament has changed with each edition of the tournament. The Rugby League World Cup has followed a varied range of formats throughout its history as the number of teams participating has increased. The current format has been in use since the 2021 tournament, in addition to the 2000 tournament. This format features 16 teams split into four groups of four playing

5238-528: The four founding nations. New Zealand has never solely hosted a World Cup but they have co-hosted with Australia on three occasions with 2017 also jointly co-hosted with Papua New Guinea. England have co-hosted once with Wales in 2013 although the 2000 World Cup was played across the UK as well as some games in Ireland and France. France hosted the first World Cup in 1954 and again in 1972 as well as hosting games at

5335-440: The game in the interests of promoting international rugby league. Their efforts were rewarded with the largest World Cup final attendance since 1968 , when 54,290 saw Australia defeat France at the Sydney Cricket Ground . Eden Park hosted two matches (a double header) in the 2010 Rugby League Four Nations on 6 November. In the early game, England defeated Papua New Guinea 36–10, with Australia defeating New Zealand 34–20 in

5432-469: The game. While competing in the 1970 tournament, reigning champions Australia put the trophy on display at the Midland Hotel , Bradford . The trophy was stolen from the hotel on the night of Sunday, 1 November 1970, six days before the final, and remained unseen for the next twenty years. Before the theft, the trophy was last held aloft by Johnny Raper after Australia's 20-2 win over France at

5529-414: The ground in the 1913 season, and the first international fixture was against South Africa in 1921. The Auckland Blues have used the ground since their foundation in 1996. The final game of the 1981 Springbok Tour was played at Eden Park. A low-flying Cessna 172 piloted by Marx Jones and Grant Cole dropped flour bombs on the field as part of widespread protests against the tour and apartheid. Eden Park

5626-654: The ground is no longer cost-effective or financially viable to host cricket matches, and that they were looking at hosting fixtures at the Western Springs Stadium instead. The ground is also where famed Indian cricket player Sachin Tendulkar made his debut as an ODI opener. Ahead of the second ODI of the New Zealand-India series at the ground in March 1994, regular opener Navjot Singh Sidhu

5723-672: The ground submerged in water for a week. The same thing happened again later in the year. By 1910, the ongoing maintenance costs led the Eden District Cricket Club to approach the Auckland Cricket Association to take over running the park. By 1912, the land had been transferred from John Walters to the trustees of the cricket association, backed financially by a number of well-known Auckland businessman. The name 'Eden Park' settled into general usage around 1912, soon after it had been taken over by

5820-524: The ground. During the 1960s and 70s, further large scale events were held at the venue, including 1961 French tour of New Zealand and Australia , the 1963 England tour of New Zealand , the 1969 Wales rugby union tour of Oceania , a welcoming party for the royal family during the 1970 New Zealand Royal Visit Honours , the Australian tour of New Zealand (1973–74) , and a gymnastic display held by touring Russian gymnasts including Olga Korbut . During

5917-488: The group stages and over 66,000 people attending the final, in which Australia defeated England 16–8. Intended for 1998, the next World Cup was delayed for two years due to the Super League war and the subsequent re-structuring of rugby league's international governing bodies meant that the proposed 1998 World Cup was postponed. In 2000 , the World Cup was held in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and France, and expanded

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6014-401: The high level of talent they had on offer that year (no Scottish or Irish players made the original Great Britain squad). This resulted in the tournament increasing from four teams to five for the first time. There was not a final held to decide the champions of the 1975 tournament and so Australia won by virtue of topping the group standings. As Australia had not beaten England in that tournament

6111-553: The highest total has been set by New Zealand national cricket team against the Australian national cricket team when they scored 340/5 on 18 Feb 2007. The most runs scored in this ground have been by Martin Guptill (818 runs), Martin Crowe (719 runs) and Nathan Astle (705 runs). The most wickets have been taken by Chris Cairns -33 wickets, followed by Chris Harris - 28 wickets. In May 2018, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said that

6208-432: The home sides with an attendance of 45,000 at the latter. The ground hosted its first match between New Zealand and Australia as part of the 1931 Australia rugby union tour of New Zealand . New Zealand won 20–13 . In 1933, New Zealand hosted England in the first cricket test match, where Wally Hammond set an individual test batting record of 336 not out. Eden Park served as the opening ceremony and athletics venue for

6305-604: The hotel in a symbolic capacity only. Following its disappearance, nothing is known of the trophy's whereabouts for the next twenty years until, in 1990, Bradford resident Stephen Uttley and his wife Elizabeth discovered the trophy, missing only the plinth , amongst rubbish dumped in a ditch near the Bradford and Bingley Rugby Club in Bingley . Unaware of the significance of his find, Stephen Uttley made enquiries with local rugby clubs including Bradford Northern (known today as

6402-410: The inaugural competition in 1954. This trophy was used and presented to the winning nation for the first four tournaments, before being stolen in 1970. While no trophy could be presented in 1970 due to the original's disappearance a few days before the final, several other trophies were used from 1972 until 1995. For the 1995 tournament, a £10,000 cup was made by Tiffanys to celebrate the centenary of

6499-452: The knockout rounds of the previous tournament automatically qualify for the next. The remaining spots are achieved through regional qualification tournaments, split between the four International Rugby League confederation Asia-Pacific, Americas, Europe, and Middle East-Africa. Because of a changeing number of teams making the finals and entering the qualifiers, and the unpredictability of the geographic spread of teams automatically qualifying,

6596-471: The lowest score in world cup final history. England were chosen to host the 2021 tournament which was postponed to 2022 due to Australia and New Zealand withdrawing due to the COVID-19 pandemic . with organisers expressing a desire to see a total of one million fans attend games. This tournament saw the number of teams increased to 16 once again, with Greece and Jamaica debuting in the competition. In 2021,

6693-553: The most concerts ever played at the venue for a touring artist. The $ 256 million redevelopment completed in October 2010 provided a permanent capacity of 50,000 with a further 10,000 temporary seats for the 2011 Rugby World Cup games. This is the largest of any New Zealand sports arena. There are no standing areas. Temporary seating in front of the North Stand and the West Stand (usually only used for international rugby matches)

6790-504: The nation to host the first tournament to be officially known as the "Rugby World Cup". In addition to the hosts, the tournament featured teams from Britain, Australia and New Zealand. The 1954 Rugby League World Cup was won by Great Britain who defeated France in Paris on 13 November to claim the title. Following the success of the maiden World Cup three years later another tournament was held in Australia, marking 50 years of rugby league in

6887-491: The only venue to host the World Cup final for both rugby codes. In a spiteful match in which the New Zealand national rugby league team seemed more intent on dishing out punishment than playing football, the Wally Lewis -led Australians defeated the home side 25–12 after leading 25–0 early in the second half. The game was played in front of a record New Zealand rugby league attendance of 47,363 (only 672 less than attended

6984-618: The opening ceremony and match, five pool games, two quarter-finals, both semi-finals and the final are held at Eden Park, with a cumulative attendance of more than 600,000. New Zealand defeated France 8 – 7 before a crowd of 61,079. The ground hosted its first game of professional football, with the Wellington Phoenix hosting Adelaide United before a crowd of 20,078. In 2013 the New Zealand Warriors announced they would be playing three home games at Eden Park in

7081-425: The opening match of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup . In 2011 it hosted pool games, two quarter-finals, both semi-finals and the final of 2011 Rugby World Cup . In doing so it became the first stadium in the world to host two Rugby World Cup finals , having held the inaugural final in 1987 . It was a venue for the 2015 Cricket World Cup , which was jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand. Eden Park also hosted

7178-516: The opposition since 1920. Five England players were dismissed for a duck. Trent Boult (6/32) picked his career best figures in test cricket. This was his second five wicket haul at Eden Park and his second consecutive five wicket haul in day night test cricket, the first one against Australia in Adelaide in 2015 which was the inaugural day night test. The highest total set by a team here in Test cricket

7275-507: The pool A clash between co-hosts New Zealand and Australia , which New Zealand won by one wicket via Kane Williamson 's six off Pat Cummins with 6 required after Mitchell Starc had taken 6 wickets in reply to Trent Boult 's 5. It also hosted the first semifinal between New Zealand and South Africa , which New Zealand won off the penultimate ball with another six – this time by Grant Elliott off Dale Steyn – to advance to their first Cricket World Cup final. In 2018, Eden Park hosted

7372-526: The previous competition. New Zealand became only the third team to win the world cup and the first other than Australia since 1972. 2013 saw England and Wales host the tournament and expanded to 14 teams. The tournament, originally scheduled for 2012, was moved very early in its organisation to 2013 due to the United Kingdom hosting the 2012 Summer Olympics . The competition was considered the most successful competition since 1995 in terms of attendances, exposure and financial output. The tournament saw Italy and

7469-420: The quarter-finals, the first time a tier 1 nation had exited the tournament at this early stage. Tonga played England in the semi-finals and while conceding 20 unanswered points, they would score 3 tries in just the last seven minutes to pull the score back to 20–18, eventually losing by this close margin. The final was contested between Australia and England at Lang Park , Brisbane and Australia won by just 6–0,

7566-409: The same club frequented by Warrington and Kiwi International Gary Mercer during his stay in Bradford. There were plans for the trophy to be used as a bodybuilding trophy by the club. Mercer eventually contacted the local Telegraph & Argus newspaper, who ran an article on it. The trophy was identified by rugby league historian Trevor Delaney, who in turn notified the police, the newspapers and

7663-625: The second game. The fixture attracted 44,324 fans. The New Zealand Warriors played the Parramatta Eels in their first NRL match at Eden Park to start the 2011 NRL season in front of a crowd of 38,405 with Parramatta winning 24–18. The Warriors played their first home match of the 2012 season against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in a 2011 NRL Grand Final replay, with Manly winning 26–20 in front of 37,502. The 2012 ANZAC Test between Australia and New Zealand

7760-408: The stadium capacity was the highest ever at 704,400. However, the occupancy was also the lowest ever at just 37.46%. The largest stadium in terms of capacity ever used was Wembley Stadium , London with a seating capacity of 90,000; the stadium was used in the 2013 tournament as the venue for the semi-final double-header. The smallest stadium ever used was also in 2013 when The Gnoll , Neath , with

7857-510: The top two teams in the table played in the final, a knockout stage was added, with quarter and semi-finals. Due to the Super League war , players aligned with the Super League competition were not selected by the ARL to represent Australia, which meant the absence of many star players. The tournament, which was also held to celebrate the centenary of the sport, saw over 250,000 people attending

7954-455: The tournament until 1968, when Australia and New Zealand hosted and the World Cup final made a return. The World Cup found more success in the 70s with four tournaments being played. The first, the 1972 World Cup where the final was contested between Great Britain and Australia ended 10–10, and the title was awarded to Great Britain by virtue of their superior record in the qualifiers. Great Britain were captained by Welshman Clive Sullivan who

8051-405: The tournament was considered highly successful in terms of competitiveness. The tournament would see Tonga beat New Zealand in the group stages with a score of 28–22 to top the group, the first time a team from outside the top 3 had beaten a top 3 nation in over two decades. New Zealand went on to play Fiji in the quarter-finals and lost once again with a score of just 4–2, knocking New Zealand out in

8148-420: The tournament. In total, 81 stadiums have hosted world cup games over the 14 tournaments. Headingley Stadium in Leeds has hosted the tournament the most times, having had games in 7 world cups with Central Park , Wigan and Lang Park , Brisbane having hosted 6 tournaments. 52 stadiums have hosted matches in just 1 tournament. The most stadiums used in a tournament was in 2000 when 26 stadiums were used;

8245-495: The tournament; Australia twelve times, Great Britain three times, and New Zealand once. Australia has been in the final of every World Cup, except the first in 1954, when they came third (considered to be a complete upset at the time, with bookmakers having Australia as strong favourites). The latest World Cup was held in England in 2022 after being delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The Rugby League World Cup

8342-405: The winter, looked better suited to frog-hunting or duck-shooting than cricket, let alone rugby. Ryan knew or at least imagined better." Much early work on the cricket ground was needed, including clearing the stone walls that had been used to divide farmland, and ongoing drainage issues. Those who saw Ryan's vision as madness most likely felt vindicated when, in 1907, massive downpours of rain saw

8439-533: Was a venue during the 1992 Cricket World Cup , cohosted with Australia. In 1996, the new Auckland Blues began playing at the ground, with the inaugural Super 12 final held at the ground, with the Auckland Blues defeating the Sharks 45 – 21 before a crowd of 46,000. The ground hosted Super 12 finals in 1997, 1998 and 2003. The ground hosted its first rugby test between New Zealand and Ireland as part of

8536-752: Was an initiative of the French who had been campaigning for a competition since 1935. The idea was raised in 1951 by Paul Barrière , the President of the French Rugby League . In 1952, Rugby Football League secretary Bill Fallowfield persuaded the Rugby League Council to support the concept. At a meeting in Blackpool , England in 1953, the International Board accepted Paul Barrière's proposal that France should be

8633-428: Was by the South African national cricket team against the New Zealand national cricket team when they scored 621/5 dec on 27 Feb 1999. The most runs scored in this ground have been by John Wright (1060 runs), Martin Crowe (712 runs) and Nathan Astle (649 runs). The most wickets have been taken by Richard Hadlee - 45 wickets followed by Chris Cairns -35 wickets and Richard Collinge -29 wickets. In ODI cricket,

8730-437: Was held, with Auckland hosting Australia . The first rugby match played at the venue was a seven-a-side series on 9 May 1914, and the first representative match was played on 5 September, against Wellington. Drainage issues ceased to be a regular issue for Kingsland and Eden Park in the 1920s, after which the park began to flourish. The first rugby test was held on 27 August 1921, when South Africa beat New Zealand 5–9 before

8827-577: Was part of the Government's formal due diligence process on the decision to redevelop Eden Park. The Government had said it would assist with the funding if a new stadium was built. The Government announced in a report in November 2006 that it would favour a new stadium on the Auckland waterfront, which would have meant that the Eden Park redevelopment would not have gone ahead, and that options for its use or redevelopment would have to be developed. After

8924-586: Was played at Eden Park, with the Kangaroos winning 20–12 in front of 35,399. The Warriors played the Sydney Roosters in Round 2 of the 2013 NRL season , going down 16–14 in front of 32,740. In 2013 a new faster format of rugby league was announced that it would be held at Eden Park. In 15–16 February 2014, Eden Park held the first ever NRL Auckland Nines tournament. In 2010, Eden Park hosted its first rugby league internationals since 1988 when it hosted

9021-603: Was put forward in 2016 to hold the 2025 Rugby League World Cup in the United States and Canada, but in December 2018 plans for the tournament to be held in North America were scrapped due to financial concerns. On 11 January 2022, it was announced France would host the tournament in 2025, however on 15 May 2023 France pulled out of hosting the tournament after a newly elected French government withdrew financial support. A day later, New Zealand announced they were considering

9118-539: Was ruled out with a stiff neck, opening the way for the 21-year-old Tendulkar's promotion. He made 82 off just 49 balls against to steer India to a 7-wicket victory. It was a site for 2022 Women's Cricket World Cup . References: The biggest rugby league game played at Eden Park was the 1988 World Cup final played on 9 October, giving the venue the distinction of hosting the Union and League World Cup finals in consecutive years. This also sees Eden Park (as of 2018) as

9215-579: Was the first black player to captain any British national sports team. The final at the Stade de Gerland in Lyon witnessed what is (as of 2021) the last British team to win the Rugby League World Cup. In 1975, the competition underwent a radical overhaul with the tournament being held across multiple confederations. Great Britain was split into England and Wales due to Wales wanting to showcase

9312-652: Was third under the old format and have made the semi-finals twice while Fiji have appeared in three while Tonga have made the semi-finals just once. Papua New Guinea achieved fourth place under the old format and have made it to three quarter-finals. Four other teams; Ireland, Lebanon, Scotland and the USA have all made the quarter-finals bringing the total amount of teams to reach the knockout stage to 14. 1 (2021) 3 (1975, 1995, 2000) 3 (2008, 2013, 2017) 1 (1988) 1 (2017) Top 10 match attendances. Paul Barri%C3%A8re Trophy The Paul Barrière Trophy serves as

9409-400: Was used in the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup and the 2011 Rugby World Cup , both of which the All Blacks won against France, making it the first ground to host two Rugby World Cup finals. In late 2015, the ground also hosted a public memorial for legendary All Black wing Jonah Lomu after he died at the age of 40. It was one of the sites for the 2021 Women's Rugby World Cup , including

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