The Kangaroos have won the Rugby League World Cup final for a fourth straight tournament, beating New Zealand 32-12 at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday night. Liam Martin and Jack Bostock each scored two tries as Australia ran in six tries to two in front of 52,461 fans in Brisbane.
The result extends Australia’s run to 23 straight World Cup wins and a record 13th men’s world title, NRL.com reported. Their last World Cup final loss was to the Kiwis in Brisbane in 2008.
Bradman Best and Tom Trbojevic also crossed for the Kangaroos, while Cameron Munster kicked four goals. Casey McLean and Isaiah Papali’i scored New Zealand’s tries, with Jamayne Isaako kicking two goals.
A dream start for the Kangaroos
New Zealand’s night began badly when Isaako’s opening kick-off sailed over the dead-ball line on the full. Australia scored from their first attack, with Martin powering over from a Harry Grant pass inside two minutes, which NRL.com described as the quickest try in World Cup history.
McLean levelled the scores in the 12th minute for his ninth try of the tournament, and Isaako’s conversion took him to 227 Test points, a New Zealand record ahead of Shaun Johnson, according to NRL.com.
Read more: Kangaroos vs Kiwis Record: Head-to-Head History Since 1908
The Kangaroos then took control. Bostock scored from a Best tap-on, a Munster penalty made it 12-6, and Best ran down Jahrome Hughes from behind to force a turnover before scoring himself in the next set. A Jacob Preston strip on Naufahu Whyte set up Martin’s second try, and Australia led 24-6 at half-time.
Walsh and Trbojevic seal it
Reece Walsh beat several defenders early in the second half to send Trbojevic over in the right corner, before Papali’i pulled one back for the Kiwis in the 66th minute. Bostock, named player of the match, finished a flick pass from Best in the left corner late to seal the win.
James Tedesco came off the bench with six minutes left and later confirmed it was his final game for Australia.
What they said
“The chat from everybody coming into this tournament, everyone wrote us off, talking about how good all the other teams are and how good their coaches are,” Walsh said, BBC Sport reported. “I feel we got disrespected.”
Kiwis coach Stacey Jones did not hide from the result. “It was our worst performance. We got off to a bad start and could not fight our way out of it,” Jones said, according to BBC Sport.
Read more: Latrell Mitchell Out of World Cup Final, Tedesco Called Up
Coach Kevin Walters was asked about his future after the match, with his St Helens coaching role in the Super League ahead. “I’ll keep coaching. We’ve got to go to St Helens, which I’m really excited about, and we’ll see what happens with the Kangaroos stuff after the next few days,” Walters said, Fox Sports reported.
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