Here’s our review of the Rugby League World Cup World Cup opening round of matches.
Check out our Match Reports for the following results
GROUP A: ENGLAND 60 defeated SAMOA 6
GROUP B: AUSTRALIA 42 defeated FIJI 8
GROUP C: NEW ZEALAND 34 defeated LEBANON 12
GROUP D: TONGA 24 defeated PNG 18
Other Results
GROUP B: ITALY 28 defeated SCOTLAND 4
Maizen (who currently plays for the Sunshine Coast Falcons in the Queensland Cup) scored in the 43rd, 48th, and 73rd minutes as Italy built on a 12-0 half-time lead. It was also a “pure” hat-trick, with three tries in a row.
Lachlan Walmsley scored Scotland’s only try shortly before full-time.
GROUP C: IRELAND 48 defeated JAMAICA 2
Ireland’s hopes of making the quarter finals were boosted by a huge win at Emerald Headingley Stadium, Leeds.
With NRL star Luke Keary and former Canberra Raider Harry Rushton in their side, Ireland were far too classy for Jamaica
Ireland scored 10 tries, with a double to Louis Senior. Though their goalkicking was a letdown, with just four goals from 10 attempts.
While their RLWC debut wasn’t the Cool Runnings fairy-tale some may have hoped for, at least Kieran Rush kicked Jamaica’s first ever points, with a penalty goal on half-time.
Ireland’s next game against Lebanon will decide who finishes second in Group C.
GROUP A: FRANCE 34 defeated GREECE 12
France were too strong at Doncaster (Eco-Power Stadium), but Greece were far from disgraced.
France scored five tries – with a double to Benjamin Jullien – and led 26-0 early in the second half. Arthur Mourgue scored a try and kicked seven goals from seven attempts.
But Greece kept trying, with Siteni Taukamo scoring their first RLWC try in the 55th minute, and another one on full-time, with Nick Mougios catching a cross-field chip and running 60 metres: an early contender for the best try of the tournament.
South Sydney’s Lachlan Ilias landed both conversions.
GROUP D: COOK ISLANDS 18 defeated WALES 12
The Cook Islands have beaten Wales in an absolute thriller at Leigh Sports Village Stadium.
Wales led 12-8 at half-time, with tries to Rhodri Lloyd and Ollie Olds.
The Cook Islands came back in the second half, with two tries in five minutes to Davvy Moale (58th minute) and Steven Marsters (63rd).
In just one game, Wales have already proven more competitive than the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, where they lost all three group games by big margins.
