Tom Trbojevic (Credits: BBC Sport)
Australia booked their place in the Rugby League World Cup semi-finals with a pulsating 36-22 victory over Fiji, surviving a major scare in Brisbane before Tom Trbojevic’s hat-trick turned the match on its head. The result keeps the holders on course, but head coach Kevin Walters will know his side got away with one.
Fiji had lost their previous five meetings with Australia by a combined score of 246-16, yet for long stretches they looked like the better team. They enjoyed territorial advantage in the first half and, after the break, took a 16-12 lead that stunned the Brisbane crowd.
Australia vs Fiji: the 60 seconds that changed the World Cup semi-final race
The momentum swung in a crucial 60-second spell. Solomone Saukuru raced in to seemingly put Fiji 20-12 ahead, only for the try to be ruled out for obstruction. Australia went straight up the other end and Trbojevic scored to bring the teams level.
From there, the Kangaroos took control. Trbojevic, who had looked vulnerable in defence earlier in the game, crossed twice more to complete his hat-trick, and Jacob Preston added a further try after Semi Valemei had completed his own hat-trick for Fiji.
“There are definitely some areas to improve on,” Trbojevic told Premier Sports afterwards. “We didn’t start as we wanted to and couldn’t get a flow. We just needed to play our style of footy. We weren’t at our best but we came away with two points. We need to improve.”
Brisbane Broncos centre Kotoni Staggs had opened the scoring for Australia on his home ground, while Sam Walker capped his debut with a try and 12 points with the boot. But the manner in which Australia’s pack were outmuscled — and the ease with which Taane Milne and Valemei scored — will concern Walters, whose team have now delivered two unconvincing performances in beating New Zealand and Fiji.
New Zealand get back on track with 82-16 win over Cook Islands
Elsewhere in Group A, New Zealand bounced back from their 24-22 opening defeat by Australia in style, beating the Cook Islands 82-16 in Christchurch. It did not go entirely to script — the Cook Islands recovered from 12-0 down to lead 16-12 — but from there it was one-way traffic, with the Kiwis leading 36-16 by half-time.
Jamayne Isaako, who is joining Melbourne Storm next term, was the star, scoring a record 38 points for the Kiwis. He crossed three times overall and kicked 13 conversions, eclipsing Tasesa Lavea’s previous single-game record of 32 points, set against the same opposition in 2000.
Test debutant Tanner Stowers-Smith, Ronaldo Mulitalo and Casey McLean each scored twice, while Scott Sorensen, Kodi Nikorima, Te Maire Martin, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Keano Kini — who replaced injured star full-back Kalyn Ponga — also claimed tries. Esom Ioka grabbed a hat-trick for the Cook Islands in response to early efforts from Isaako and Mulitalo.
New Zealand will now take on Fiji in a make-or-break final pool game on Saturday, October 31, while the Kiwi Ferns continue to dominate the women’s tournament. New Zealand’s women thrashed France 92-0 in Christchurch, with Apii Nicholls scoring four tries and Stacey Waaka and Mele Hufanga both claiming hat-tricks in an 18-try demolition. The Kiwi Ferns have now beaten France by a combined 236-0 across three World Cup encounters, and will round off Pool B against Papua New Guinea on October 31.
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Source: BBC Sport — read the full story there.
