Rugby League World Cup: Australia win men's competition following 30-10 victory over Samoa at Old Trafford

Australia have won the Men’s Rugby League World Cup.
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Mal Meninga’s side produced a 30-10 victory against a spirited Samoa at Old Trafford in front of a crowd of 67,502.

James Tedesco and Latrell Mitchell were among the scorers, as they both went over for braces to help the Kangeroos to their third World Cup in a row.

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Samoa made the brighter start to the game, but it didn’t take long for Australia to get themselves into it, with a poor kick from Jarome Luai allowing them to quickly break up field.

Australia have won the Rugby League World Cup (Photo by Charlotte Tattersall/Getty Images for RLWC)Australia have won the Rugby League World Cup (Photo by Charlotte Tattersall/Getty Images for RLWC)
Australia have won the Rugby League World Cup (Photo by Charlotte Tattersall/Getty Images for RLWC)

The resulting pressure from this eventually led to the opening try of the afternoon, with Latrell Mitchell shrugging off multiple challenges to go over on the right side.

Another quickly followed, as Josh Addo-Carr made a break through the Samoa line, after a quick burst of pace, before providing an assist for James Tedesco.

Despite Samoa having some good field position near the Kangaroos line, they couldn’t make the most of it, and were quickly punished down the other end, with Liam Martin adding another for Meninga’s side.

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Six minutes into the second half, Matt Parish’s side were handed temporary man advantage.

Angus Crichton was sent to the sin bin, after raising his elbow to make contact with the head of Chanel Harris-Tavita.

Even with a man down, Australia were able to extend their lead, with Cameron Murray finding space on the right side to score.

On the hour mark, Samoa pulled one back, with Brian To’o sprinting over down the right side.

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The Kangaroos soon responded, as Tedesco sprinted through a gap in the line for his second of the game.

Parish’s side quickly pulled back another, with Stephen Crichton sprinting to the line after intercepting a loose pass from Ben Hunt.

Despite Samoa having some positive moments in the match, the Kangaroos’ victory never looked truly threatened, as they put in a strong defensive display.

The result marks Australia’s second World Cup win of the day, with the Jillaroos beating New Zealand comfortably in the game before.

Meanwhile, on Friday evening, England won the Wheelchair tournament with a victory over France.

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