Pool A Pool B Pool C Pool C

New Zealand South Africa Wales France

Ireland Scotland England Australia

USA Canada W. Samoa Italy

Argentina Fiji Japan Tonga

The minnows continued to make inroads into the world game. Fiji, especially, displayed the wild, fifteen-man running game that crowds loved. Argentina showed the first signs of their pride in scrummaging, while the U.S.A. were recipients of the worst World Cup beating to date, 42-6 to New Zealand.

In the upper echelon, Australia still suffered from defections to League, and lost handily to France. Wales ran up big scores against Western Samoa and Japan, but barely beat England 9-8.

Quarterfinals:

New Zealand v. Australia

South Africa v. England

Wales v. Ireland

France v. Scotland

France and Scotland began what would become a long and storied World Cup rivalry, often with the Scots enduring some last-second indignity. In this case, a Gallic drop goal in injury time secured a 14-12 won for the French.

South Africa had little trouble against England, 16-5, while Wales and Ireland fought out a classic in the South Pacific gales, with the Welsh winning 21-19. Yet another classic was the All Blacks v. Wallabies clash, which came down to the superior kicking of the All Black fullback Don Clarke — 14-9.

Semi finals:

New Zealand 23

Wales 15

The All Blacks found revenge with a blistering attack. Pine Tree Meads dominated in the lineouts, offering his backs plenty of ball to pound at the Welsh defense. The main difference between the northern and the southern game illustrated itself in this game. When points became scarce, the Welsh pushed for tries that did not come. The All Blacks, settled for drop goals, gaining two from flyhalf Ross Brown and another from Don Clarke. A Meads try from a lineout and maul, converted by Clarke, added to the Brown drops and a Clarke penalty gave New Zealand a 14-5 lead at the half. The Clarke drop, a penalty, and another try made it 23-5 at one point. Two tries late in the game made it close, but still New Zealand’s game.

South Africa 12

France 21

A conservative Springbok team ran up against a French side hungry for tries. What started out as a close affair at 6-3 South Africa after 30 minutes exploded just before the half. Artful center Andre Boniface slashed through the line and fed Pipiou Dupuy on the wing for a spectacular try. Within minutes, Boniface fed Eliacin Darrouy on the other wing. He was tackled short of the line, but kept his feet long enough to pass off to flanker Michel Crauste charging at full speed. Three men couldn’t stop him for the last two meters, and the half-time score was 13-6. Darrouy and Boniface touched down in the second half, making the final score 21-12.

Final:

New Zealand 18 (3 T, 3C, 1P)

France 11 (1T, 2P)

Third place:

South Africa 15

Wales 10

Don Clarke’s kicking boots apparently had holes in them. Under intense scrutiny, the fullback missed three early kicks, as the French backs used their fleet feet to provide strong defensive cover and keep New Zealand out of in-goal. Crauste notched a converted try after 25 minutes for a 5-0 halftime lead for France. Within minutes of the restart, Clarke finally slotted a penalty. Buoyed by their first points, the All Blacks put on the pressure, and tries from Ross Brown, Clarke, and prop Kevin Skinner negated two French penalty kicks. It wasn’t a contest after that, and the All Blacks had their world championship, and a load lifted from their shoulders.

1959 Champions: New Zealand