Kangaroos’ defence in no doubt
LEAGUE
Australia have defended their Rugby League World Cup title in style with a 30-10 win over Samoa at Old Trafford yesterday.
With skipper James Tedesco and centre Latrell Mitchell claiming doubles and halves Nathan Cleary and Cameron Munster all class, the Kangaroos scored six tries to two in front of 67,502 fans at the Theatre of Dreams.
The Kangaroos were first to strike after a clever grubber by Ben Hunt forced a line dropout and, on the ensuing set, Mitchell powered through Brian To’o and Joseph Suaali’i to make it 4-0 after 14 minutes.
Just four minutes later, the Kangaroos were in again when Josh Addo-Carr exploded into space and found Tedesco in support for a 10-0 lead.
Mitchell went within inches of adding a second try in the 25th minute but some desperate Samoa defence denied the Rabbitohs star.
With Harry Grant scheming out of dummy half, the Kangaroos extended their lead on the half-hour mark when the Storm rake put Liam Martin in for his fourth try of the tournament.
Down 14-0 Samoa continued to chance their arm and created space on the left for Jarome Luai but he was shut down by Tedesco in cover defence.
Samoa dug deep on their own line late in the half to hold the Kangaroos at bay in a defensive stance that ensured they were still in the hunt at the break.
A big moment arrived in the 47th minute when Angus Crichton was sin binned for 10 minutes after raising his elbow and making contact with the head of Chanel Harris-Tavita, who was forced off for a HIA.
Samoa immediately mounted pressure and Suaali’i found space on the left but the final pass went astray.
Mistakes by Pat Carrigan and Mitchell heaped more pressure on the undermanned Kangaroos but Cameron Munster came up with a trademark strip on Spencer Leniu to ease the pressure.
That play by Munster gave Australia the field position to cross for a fourth try when Cleary went to the line and delivered a sweet ball for Cameron Murray to surge into a hole and the defending champions led 20-0.
Some brilliant footwork and a great cut-out pass by Luai opened the door for To’o on the right wing and Samoa had their first of the night in the 61st minute. Crichton converted from wide out to make it 20-6.
With 12 minutes remaining the Kangaroos put the result out of reach when Munster delivered an inside pass to a flying Tedesco for the skipper to make it a double. Cleary’s conversion made it 26-6.
An intercept by Stephen Crichton in the 71st minute gave Samoan fans another chance to celebrate as the Panthers star continued his stellar tournament.
From there the Kangaroos were able to close the game down and they put the finishing touches on their third consecutive World Cup title when Mitchell slid in for his second try in the final minute.
The Kiwi Ferns’ World Cup dreams turned into a nightmare as they were smashed 54-4 by Australia in the final at Old Trafford.
It was the most one-sided decider since 2003, as the Jillaroos scored 10 tries, accelerating away in the second half after leading 20-0 at the break.
It’s the third consecutive world crown for Australia, after New Zealand won titles in 2000, 2003 and 2008.
The Ferns held Australia to three tries in the first 35 minutes, before the match became a procession after the interval. The result will be a shock to many, especially after Australia only edged their group game 10-8.
But the Jillaroos were perfect at Old Trafford — composed, calm and clinical — while the Ferns couldn’t make the most of their opportunities in the first half, which could have made the game closer for longer.
Australia’s dominance was reflected in the statistics, with line breaks (11-2), tackle busts (55-17), post contact metres (652-367) and missed tackles (17-56).
Their win was built on a relentless defence, as the Ferns spent most of the match pinned in their own half.
The tournament schedule was also a factor, as New Zealand tried to peak for the third time in 10 days, while Australia had the luxury of seven fresh players for the final.
It was a curious format, with the transtasman teams paired in the same pool. In the end, the Ferns didn’t have much left for the decider.
Australia were smart too, sending constant traffic down the Ferns’ right edge, which drained the effectiveness of Raecene McGregor, Amber Hall and Mele Hufanga on attack.
Australia made the perfect start, with a fifth minute try to Jess Sergis, who barrelled through two defenders on the right edge. It was a product of a timely six-again call — on the last tackle — which created more pressure.
A Krystal Rota break finally gave the Ferns some territory but they couldn’t find an end product. Ali Brigginshaw then cut through the Ferns line, before Isabelle Kelly crossed down the left flank.
The game slowly settled into a rhythm, but Australia always looked more likely.
McGregor went close with a show and go, then the half turned on two plays. New Zealand coughed up possession in a rare chance on Australia’s line, before the Jillaroos scored on the next set, as a Brigginshaw fifth tackle kick bounced nicely for Julia Robinson, though her opposite Madison Bartlett should have done better in the tackle.
Australia put the stamp on their first half dominance in the 35th minute, when Kelly forced her way over again — after a quick switch of play — to give the Jillaroos a seemingly unassailable lead.
Any chance of an unlikely New Zealand comeback were extinguished in the 49th minute, when Emma Tonegato split the defence down the middle, after running off an inside ball from Brigginshaw.
That left New Zealand playing for pride, which was dented further when Sergis crossed three minutes later, before Tarryn Aiken extended the margin after a long range break.
The Ferns got on the board in the 64th minute, after a Hall offload and a McGregor cut out pass created space, with Bartlett finishing in the corner.
Australian interchange forward Kennedy Cherrington rubbed further salt into the wound with two late tries.
It got a bit embarrassing towards the end, as Evania Pelite shrugged off four defenders to score, though the Ferns simply had nothing left.
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