France flogged

Graham stars for Roos

KANGAROOS rookie Wade Graham scored four tries in Australia’s 52-6 rout of France in their Rugby League World Cup group match — their biggest win under coach Mal Meninga.

In just the second Test match of his career, Graham completed a first half hat-trick in 19 minutes last night before adding a fourth midway through the second half.

Four other players also got on the scoresheet, including two for Cameron Munster, as the Kangaroos made it nine consecutive Test wins in a row. The victory all but ensures the defending champions will top pool A ahead of their final group match against Lebanon next week.

The only disappointment was a meagre crowd of 12,293 at GIO Stadium in Canberra.

Australia was expected to make short work of the rugby league minnows, but the world No. 6 showed plenty of grit to almost steal the lead midway through the first half. But Graham’s 31st-minute try ended any thoughts of a stunning upset, and from there the French were no match for the Kangaroos’ relentless attack. Graham, Tyson Frizell and Aaron Woods proved too powerful against the smaller French forwards, laying the platform for Munster to set up three tries of the 10 tries.

The Kangaroos were leading by 14 in the 43rd minute when Munster breezed past French centre Olivier Arnaud, who was on the field despite injuring his elbow moments before the try.

The points just flowed after that, with Frizell, Billy Slater, Graham and Valentine Holmes all chipping in to push Australia past the half-century mark. Holmes was a last-minute call-up to the side after James Maloney withdrew from the team on game day to attend to a personal matter in Sydney.