1968: French No Match For Aussies
The first World Cup in 8 years saw the permanent addition of a Final between the top 2 sides to determine the winner. Co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, the British were expected to be the main threats to the Aussies. Australia breezed through the pool rounds winning all three against NZ (31-12), France (37-4) and Britain (25-10 in front of 62,256 at the SCG). The Aussies were captained by John Raper and included some of the nation's best ever players including Eric Simms, Bob Fulton, Graeme Langlands, Arthur Beetson, Ron Coote and John Greaves. The Brits though came unstuck in the Carlaw Park mud and lost to France (7-2) who secured a place in the Final against Australia. Over 50,000 saw Australia dismiss the French challenge by 20-2.