Australia claimed another men’s Rugby League World Cup crown by defeating New Zealand 32-12 in the title match held at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
As reported by the BBC, the triumph marks the Kangaroos’ fourth straight World Cup victory and their 10th title out of the last 11 tournaments held since 1975. Jack Bostock and Liam Martin scored tries as Australia built a 24-6 lead by half-time before extending the scoreline early in the second half.
The match report noted a crowd of 52,461 in attendance at Suncorp Stadium, where Australia ultimately dominated with six tries to two. The Kangaroos have now won their last 23 World Cup matches, securing 13 titles overall.
New Zealand coach Stacey Jones described the decider as “our worst performance” after errors and poor discipline left the team unable to recover from the early deficit.
“It was our worst performance, got off to a bad start and couldn’t sort of fight our way out of it,” Jones said after the match.
The two sides traded early tries, but the Kangaroos ran in three more before the break to take control of the contest at 24-6. New Zealand failed to fight their way back into the fixture during the second half, while Australia further extended their advantage to 28-6 early in the period.
“The start didn’t help. we come up with errors in discipline, we gave away penalties,” Jones said. “They just got at our ruck, and they had all the energy, they were running harder.”
Jones further explained that making errors and sustaining poor discipline while surrendering possession to such an opposition proves too difficult for any team to overcome.
James Fisher-Harris said the team’s preparation was good, it was just their discipline that let them down, noting that he led his side with 16 carries for 114m.
The New Zealand lineup suffered from multiple individual struggles during the fixture. Jeremy Marshall-King endured a costly spell by committing an error and giving away a penalty within 90 seconds, handing the Kangaroos a prime attacking position that resulted in a try.
Erin Clark made a poor decision to run the ball on the last tackle followed by a dropped ball during the Kiwis’ opening set of the second half, though he finished with a team-high 116m.
Australia coach Kevin Walters praised his squad after the 32-12 victory in front of a crowd of 52,461.
Walters also added, “Defensively, again, magnificent,” in comments reported by WRAL.
Reece Walsh addressed media narratives surrounding the Australian pack following the Kangaroos’ performance.
“I feel we got disrespected,” Walsh said. “I’m pretty speechless to be honest.” Walsh questioned media narratives around Australia’s pack and pointed to the tournament build-up and the Kangaroos’ response.
Individual performances for Australia included Jack Bostock and Liam Martin, who scored tries.
The match featured James Tedesco, who was sent into the fray by coach Kevin Walters with six minutes remaining in what is expected to be his final match for the Kangaroos. Interchange players not used: Ethan Strange, Sam Walker.
In the women’s tournament division, Australia’s Jillaroos secured a fourth consecutive Rugby League World Cup title by defeating opponents 34-10, set up by Jaime Chapman’s first-half hat-trick of tries.