Venue: Parramatta Stadium (Sat)
and Sydney Football Stadium (Sun).
Date: Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th February 1996.
Crowds: Saturday about 16,000; Sunday about 20,000;
total about 36,000.
Man of the tournament: Andrew Johns (Newcastle).
These Sevens were held during the ARL-Super League war. The teams representing Fiji, Great Britain, Japan, New Zealand, Port Moresby and Tonga were not official teams. The team representing the United States was official up until two weeks from the start of the tournament, at which time the official body withdrew its support.
[squads] [match details] [finals details]
Group 1:
Illawarra 22 beat South Sydney 18.
Illawarra 16 beat Tonga 12.
South Sydney 32 beat Tonga 6.
Illawarra 2 2 0 38 30 Cup
South Sydney 2 1 1 50 28 Trophy
Tonga 2 0 2 18 48 Plate
Group 2:
Sydney Tigers 32 beat Great Britain 8.
Sydney Tigers 34 beat NSW Country 12.
NSW Country 24 beat Great Britain 22.
Sydney Tigers 2 2 0 66 20 Cup
NSW Country 2 1 1 36 56 Trophy
Great Britain 2 0 2 30 56 Plate
Group 3:
Parramatta 14 beat Western Suburbs 10 in extra time.
Port Moresby 24 beat Western Suburbs 14.
Parramatta 8 beat Port Moresby 6.
Parramatta 2 2 0 22 16 Cup
Port Moresby 2 1 1 32 22 Trophy
Western Suburbs 2 0 2 24 38 Plate
Group 4:
Newcastle 52 beat Canada 0.
Newcastle 26 beat New Zealand 14.
New Zealand 56 beat Canada 0.
Newcastle 2 2 0 78 14 Cup
New Zealand 2 1 1 70 26 Trophy
Canada 2 0 2 0 108 Plate
Group 5:
Manly Warringah 40 beat American Samoa 0.
Manly Warringah 22 beat South Queensland 19.
South Queensland 28 beat American Samoa 10.
Manly Warringah 2 2 0 62 19 Cup
South Queensland 2 1 1 47 32 Trophy
American Samoa 2 0 2 10 68 Plate
Group 6:
North Sydney 18 beat Gold Coast 6.
North Sydney 30 beat Fiji 6.
Fiji 22 beat Gold Coast 10.
North Sydney 2 2 0 48 12 Cup
Fiji 2 1 1 28 40 Trophy
Gold Coast 2 0 2 16 40 Plate
Group 7:
Sydney City 50 beat Japan 0.
Sydney City 18 beat St George 14.
St George 44 beat Japan 8.
Sydney City 2 2 0 68 14 Cup
St George 2 1 1 58 26 Trophy
Japan 2 0 2 8 94 Plate
Group 8:
Australian Aboriginals 28 beat Melbourne 0.
Australian Aboriginals 28 beat United States 0.
Melbourne 18 beat United States 14 in extra time.
Australian Aboriginals 2 2 0 56 0 Cup
Melbourne 2 1 1 18 42 Trophy
United States 2 0 2 14 46 Plate
Plate Quarterfinals:
Tonga 14 beat Great Britain 4.
Western Suburbs 48 beat Canada 0.
Gold Coast 32 beat American Samoa 22.
United States 20 beat Japan 8.
Plate Semifinals:
Western Suburbs 28 beat Tonga 20.
Gold Coast 40 beat United States 8.
Plate Final:
Gold Coast 14 beat Western Suburbs 6.
Trophy Quarterfinals:
South Sydney 30 beat NSW Country 12.
Port Moresby 16 beat New Zealand 10.
South Queensland 20 beat Fiji 16.
St George 24 beat Melbourne 12.
Trophy Semifinals:
South Sydney 26 beat Port Moresby 22.
St George 20 beat South Queensland 18.
Trophy Final:
St George 22 beat South Sydney 14.
Cup Quarterfinals:
Sydney Tigers 28 beat Illawarra 8.
Newcastle 22 beat Parramatta 14.
North Sydney 20 beat Manly Warringah 18.
Australian Aboriginals 12 beat Sydney City 10.
Cup Semifinals:
Newcastle 16 beat Sydney Tigers 14.
North Sydney 28 beat Australian Aboriginals 16.
Cup Final:
Newcastle 48 beat North Sydney 18.
Venue: International Stadium, Suva.
Date: Thursday 22nd to Saturday 24th February 1996.
Crowd: dismal.
Teams were seeded into four pools, with a full round robin of games taking place between the teams in each pool. It was planned to regroup the teams based on their final pool places and play a second round robin in each of the new groups, but torrential rain washed out the second day's play. The four teams finishing first played for the Cup, the four seconds played for the Trophy, the thirds for the Plate, and the fourths for the Bowl.
The team representing Australia was not an official team, but rather one put together by the rebel Australian Super League organisation.
Pool A:
Australia 30 beat Western Samoa 0.
Scotland 12 beat United States 6.
Australia 30 beat United States 16.
Western Samoa 8 beat Scotland 4.
Australia 26 beat Scotland 4.
Western Samoa 14 beat United States 6.
Australia 3 3 0 86 20 Cup
Western Samoa 3 2 1 22 40 Trophy
Scotland 3 1 2 20 40 Plate
United States 3 0 3 28 56 Bowl
Pool B:
England 18 beat Tonga 4.
Italy 18 beat Morocco 0.
England 34 beat Morocco 0.
Tonga 30 beat Italy 4.
England 4 beat Italy 0.
Tonga 32 beat Morocco 0.
England 3 3 0 56 4 Cup
Tonga 3 2 1 66 22 Trophy
Italy 3 1 2 22 34 Plate
Morocco 3 0 3 0 84 Bowl
Pool C:
New Zealand 22 beat France 4.
Ireland 20 beat Japan 4.
New Zealand 18 beat Japan 14.
Ireland 18 beat France 14.
New Zealand 20 beat Ireland 0.
France 18 beat Japan 0.
New Zealand 3 3 0 84 4 Cup
Ireland 3 2 1 38 38 Trophy
France 3 1 2 36 40 Plate
Japan 3 0 3 4 80 Bowl
Pool D:
Papua New Guinea 4 beat Fiji 0.
Wales 10 beat Cook Islands 8.
Papua New Guinea 14 beat Wales 12.
Fiji 10 beat Cook Islands 4.
Papua New Guinea 16 beat Cook Islands 10.
Wales 8 beat Fiji 6.
Papua New Guinea 3 3 0 34 22 Cup
Wales 3 2 1 30 28 Trophy
Fiji 3 1 2 16 16 Plate
Cook Islands 3 0 3 22 36 Bowl
Bowl
Semifinals:
United States 18 beat Morocco 4.
Cook Islands 14 beat Japan 6.
Playoff:
Morocco 18 beat Japan 6.
Final:
Cook Islands 22 beat United States 0.
Plate
Semifinals:
Fiji 14 beat Scotland 4.
France 26 beat Italy 4.
Playoff:
Scotland 30 beat Italy 0.
Final:
Fiji 18 beat France 8.
Trophy
Semifinals:
Wales 16 beat Tonga 6.
Western Samoa 32 beat Ireland 18.
Playoff:
Tonga 36 beat Ireland 8.
Final:
Wales 12 beat Western Samoa 8.
Cup
Semifinals:
New Zealand 10 beat Australia 8.
Papua New Guinea 15 beat England 14.
Playoff:
Australia 14 beat England 10 in extra time.
Final:
New Zealand 26 beat Papua New Guinea 10.
Final Standings (prizemoney):
1. New Zealand ($30,000) 9. Fiji ($4000)
2. Papua New Guinea ($15,000) 10. France ($3250)
3. Australia ($10,000) 11. Scotland ($2750)
4. England ($8500) 12. Italy ($2500)
5. Wales ($7500) 13. Cook Islands ($2000)
6. Western Samoa ($6250) 14. United States ($1500)
7. Tonga ($5500) 15. Morocco ($1250)
8. Ireland ($4750) 16. Japan ($1000)
A series of games put together in haste after the cancellation of the Oceania Tournament (due to the unavailability of Australian teams). There were no playoffs or finals.
Fiji 14 beat Cook Islands 8.
New Zealand XIII 21 beat Papua New Guinea 6.
New Zealand Maoris 28 beat Tonga 18.
Fiji 28 beat New Zealand XIII 8.
New Zealand Maoris 39 beat Western Samoa 16.
Papua New Guinea 56 beat Tonga 16.
New Zealand XIII 16 beat Cook Islands 4.
Tonga 22 beat Western Samoa 17.
Fiji 2 2 0 0 42 16
New Zealand Maoris 2 2 0 0 67 34
New Zealand XIII 3 2 0 1 68 36
Papua New Guinea 2 1 0 1 62 37
Tonga 3 1 0 2 56 101
Western Samoa 2 0 0 2 33 61
Cook Islands 2 0 0 2 12 30
The superleague war isolated Australia from the rest of the world. In order to provide international competition for their players, they organised separate competitions in a number of Pacific nations and played internationals against teams representing those competitions.
Australia 84 beat NRL Fiji 14
on Friday 12th July at Newcastle.
Australia 52 beat NRL Papua New Guinea 6
on Sunday 6th October at Port Moresby.
Pool A:
Russia 57 beat South Africa 30.
Australia 50 beat Wales 4.
Australia 68 beat South Africa 12.
Russia 12 beat Wales 8.
Australia 52 beat Russia 5.
South Africa 30 beat Wales 28.
Australia 3 3 0 170 21 Cup
Russia 3 2 1 74 90 Bowl
South Africa 3 1 2 72 153 Bowl
Wales 3 0 3 40 92 Plate
Pool B:
Samoa 16 beat New Zealand 4.
USA 22 beat Ireland 20.
New Zealand 62 beat USA 10.
Samoa 42 beat Ireland 16.
Samoa 82 beat USA 8.
New Zealand 6 beat Ireland 0.
Samoa 3 3 0 140 28 Cup
New Zealand 3 2 1 72 26 Cup
USA 3 1 2 40 164 Plate
Ireland 3 0 3 36 70 Plate
Pool C:
France 29 beat England 2.
Scotland 90 beat Japan 6.
Scotland 10 beat England 4.
France 76 beat Japan 0.
France 36 beat Scotland 2.
England 76 beat Japan 18.
France 3 3 0 141 4 Cup
Scotland 3 2 1 102 46 Bowl
England 3 1 2 82 57 Bowl
Japan 3 0 3 24 242 Plate
Plate
Semifinals:
Ireland 66 beat Japan 10.
USA 22 beat Wales 18.
Playoff:
USA 54 beat Japan 10.
Final:
Wales 20 beat Ireland 12.
Bowl
Semifinals:
South Africa 44 beat Scotland 16.
England 32 beat Russia 18.
Playoff:
Russia 26 beat Scotland 20.
Final:
South Africa 22 beat England 20.
Cup
Semifinals:
Samoa 28 beat France 22.
Australia 28 beat New Zealand 6.
Playoff:
New Zealand 22 beat France 20.
Final:
Australia 38 beat Samoa 16.
Final Standings:
1. Australia 7. Russia
2. Samoa 8. Scotland
3. New Zealand 9. Wales
4. France 10. Ireland
5. South Africa 11. United States
6. England 12. Japan
In New Zealand: played 4; lost 4; for 44; against 190; lost series 2-0; total attendance ?.
1.10 Lion Red Cup XIII L 22-24 ? Auckland 5.10 NEW ZEALAND L 8-62 ? Rotorua 8.10 New Zealand Maoris L 14-40 ? Hastings 11.10 NEW ZEALAND L 0-64 ? Palmerston NorthCoach: Phil Larder.
Captain: Andy Farrell.
Vice-Captain: Denis Betts.
Squad: (33) Denis Betts (Auckland), David Bradbury (Oldham),
Paul Broadbent (Sheffield), Mick Cassidy (Wigan),
Jason Critchley (Keighley), Keiron Cunningham (St Helens),
Bernard Dwyer (Bradford Northern), Andy Farrell (Wigan),
Bobbie Goulding (St Helens), Karle Hammond (St Helens),
Neil Harmon (Leeds), Iestyn Harris (Warrington),
Joey Hayes (St Helens), Alan Hunte (St Helens),
Chris Joynt (St Helens), James Lowes (Bradford Northern),
Barrie-Jon Mather (Western Reds), Brian McDermott (Bradford Northern),
Steve Molloy (Featherstone Rovers), Adrian Morley (Leeds),
Terry O'Connor (Wigan), Rowland Phillips (Workington Town),
Daryl Powell (Keighley), Steve Prescott (St Helens),
Kris Radlinski (Wigan), Jonathan Roper (Warrington),
Paul Sculthorpe (Warrington), Keith Senior (Sheffield),
Tony Smith (Castleford), Stuart Spruce (Bradford Northern),
Anthony Sullivan (St Helens), Tulsen Tollett (London).
Nathan McAvoy who was touring with the Young Lions played
against the New Zealand Maoris.
The 1996 tour bypassed Australia, as legal difficulties prevented Great Britain from playing there. It was illegal to play against a Super League side, and playing an ARL side would have breached their Super League contract. Even after Super League won their appeal, New Zealand were not prepared to give up a game so that Great Britain could play an Australian team.
Like the 1990 tour which had also bypassed Australia, it lost money. It had been expected that it would lose some money, but ended up being a financial disaster, as illustrated by the fact that 11 players had to be sent home prior to the last two matches to save on hotel bills.
In Papua New Guinea: played 2; won 2; for 66; against 38; won series 1-0; total attendance 10,000.
25. 9 PNG Presidents XIII W 34-8 2,000 Mt Hagan 28. 9 PAPUA NEW GUINEA W 32-30 8,000 Lae
In Fiji: played 2; won 2; for 114; against 20; won series 1-0; total attendance 6,500.
2.10 Fiji Presidents XIII W 42-16 2,500 Lautoka 5.10 FIJI W 72-4 4,000 Nada
In New Zealand: played 6; drew 1; lost 5; for 111; against 159; lost series 3-0; total attendance 30,500.
New Zealand whitewashed Great Britain 3-0 for only the second time--the first was in 1984.
10.10 Lion Red Cup XIII D 22-22 1,000 Auckland 15.10 New Zealand XIII L 22-30 1,500 Lower Hutt 18.10 NEW ZEALAND L 12-17 9,000 Auckland 22.10 New Zealand Maoris L 28-40 2,000 Whangarei 25.10 NEW ZEALAND L 15-18 8,000 Palmerston North 1.11 NEW ZEALAND L 12-32 9,000 Christchurch
Overall: played 10; won 4; drew 1; lost 5; for 291; against 217; total attendance 47,000.
Wales 34 beat France 14
on Wednesday 5th June at Carcassone.
England 73 beat France 6
on Wednesday 12th June at Gateshead.
England 26 beat Wales 12
on Wednesday 26th June at Cardiff.
England won.
Scotland 26 beat Ireland 6
on Tuesday 6th August at Glasgow.