The fourth week of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup saw plenty of excitement, with the men’s quarter finals presenting a couple of nail-biting games as well as the commencement of the women’s competition.
Australia vs Lebanon: Kangaroos Slice Up Cedars in First Quarter Final
Despite Lebanon’s brave efforts, they were beaten by Australia 48-4, advancing the Kangaroos to next week’s Semi Final against New Zealand.
Australian skipper James Tedesco was at his brilliant best, running for 116 metres as well as setting up the Green and Gold’s second try by fending off two defenders and breaking the line before finding Josh Addo-Carr who scored untouched.
Tedesco Speaks Following Quarter Final Win
Angus Crichton was just as strong in the back row, working hard to tally up over 100 run metres and 24 tackles, as well as six tackle busts. Crichton had his own moment of magic, breaking the line half an hour into the match before spectacularly offloading the ball to Cameron Murray who scored Australia’s fifth try of the game.
Having a profound impact off the bench was Lindsay Collins, who contributed 39 metres from four runs and seventeen tackles in just 25 minutes on the field.
England vs Papua New Guinea: Hosts Triumph Over PNG
England became the second nation to qualify for the Semi Finals as they scored nine tries in a convincing 46-6 victory over the Kumuls.
At lock, Victory Radley had plenty of go-forward as he ran for over 80 metres from eleven runs of the football. He was just as strong on defence, hitting hard and making sixteen tackles with zero misses in 46 minutes.
RLWC 2021 Highlights: England vs Papua New Guinea
The win sets up a mouth-watering contest between England and Samoa, which will see Radley head-to-head with Roosters teammate Joseph Suaali’i for a place in the World Cup Final.
New Zealand vs Fiji: Kiwis Recover from 12-Point Deficit to Advance to Semi Finals
The New Zealand Kiwis were able to edge out the Fiji Bati 24-18 in what has been dubbed as the game of the tournament so far.
Joseph Manu had yet another Player of the Match performance, running the ball 32 times and amassing 348 run metres with 120 coming after contact as well breaking thirteen tackles. Inside the last 20 minutes, Manu backed up through the middle to receive a Ronald Mulitalo offload and score a try to level the game at eighteen-all.
RLWC 2021 Highlights: New Zealand vs Fiji
After Fiji scored the opening try, they extended their lead to twelve when Captain Kevin Naiqama charged onto a Sunia Turuva short ball to score untouched. The skipper went on to run for almost 140 metres and make 20 tackles, as well as scoring another try early in the second half when he exposed a lone defender on New Zealand’s short side.
Playing outside Naiqama on the right wing was Vuate Karawalevu, who had a strong performance with over 130 run metres including 50 post-contact metres from a total of nineteen runs of the football, as well as two tackle busts.
Manu Takes Out Player of the Match Against Fiji
Siua Wong had another near-perfect performance with zero errors made, giving him an exceptional error rate of just one mistake from his four appearances in this World Cup. Wong ran for 65 metres from seven runs whilst making an astounding 51 tackles on the defensive end.
Tonga vs Samoa: Samoa Topple Tonga in Battle of the Pacific
In one of the most nail-biting eventful matches of the tournament so far, it was Samoa who sunk the highly-favoured Mate Ma’a Tonga to qualify for their first-ever semi-final appearance, 20-18.
RLWC 2021 Highlights: Tonga vs Samoa
After conceding the first try of the game, Tonga hit back just three minutes later through veteran winger Daniel Tupou, reducing the deficit to two points. Tupou went on to run for over 100 metres in the match, as well as offloading the ball on two occasions.
Having conceded another try, Tonga hit back once again through Siosiua Taukeiaho who pounced on a Soni Luke grubber kick to score his nation’s second try. Coming off the bench, Taukeiaho contributed almost 180 metres, three tackle busts and an offload to his team.
Tupou Tip-Toes to the Try Line for Tonga
On the winning side, Samoan fullback Joseph Suaali’i was once again strong in the number one jersey. He was superb in attack, running for 231 metres and breaking ten tackles, as well as breaking the line once and offloading the ball on one occasion.
Women’s Rugby League World Cup
The 2021 Women's Rugby League World Cup kicked off with a bang as the Jillaroos and Ferns - both featuring a number of Roosters NRLW stars - took home two big wins in their opening matches.
New Zealand vs France: Ferns Open Campaign with Victory over the French
The New Zealand Ferns commenced their World Cup campaign on a high note as they scored nine tries and conceded none against France, winning the match 46-nil.
Dally M winning halfback Raecene McGregor put in plenty of hard work, gaining a total of 245 metres from 13 kicks for her team. Her creativity in attack led her to assist three line breaks and four tries, one of which was a kick to set up sister Page to score.
McGregor Pulling the Strings for New Zealand
Playing her first World Cup match, front rower Mya Hill-Moana ran for 115 metres with over half of those coming after contact. She also made eighteen tackles with no misses and zero errors committed in her 42 minutes on the field.
On her international debut, Otesa Pule tallied up 37 running metres from three runs in 22 minutes. She also helped to make a spectacular try-saving tackle on French hooker Fanny Ramos who darted out of dummy half towards the try line midway through the second half, helping maintain her side’s clean sheet.
Australia vs Cook Islands: Jillaroos Claim Big Victory over the Cook Islands
The Australian Jillaroos piled on an incredible fourteen tries on the Cook Islands, winning their first 2021 World Cup game 74-0.
In her Player of the Match performance, Samantha Bremner was phenomenal at fullback with almost 200 run metres, nine tackle breaks and two line breaks. She also scored four tries, including a magnificent solo effort where she sidestepped between defenders, racing through the line to score untouched.
Brilliant Bremner Bags Four
Playing in the centres, Isabelle Kelly was a handful for defenders with 174 run metres, five tackle busts, two line breaks, four offloads and a hat-trick of try assists. She was just as good on defence, making ten tackles with zero misses.
On debut for the Jillaroos, Olivia Kernick was strong in the second row, running for 61 metres, breaking a tackle and assisting a try in her 62 minutes on the field.
New Zealand vs Cook Islands: McGregor Stars as Ferns Triumph over Cook Islands
The New Zealand Ferns backed up their first win over France with a strong 34-4 victory against the Cook Islands to seal a spot in the semi-finals.
Superstar halfback Raecene McGregor was awarded the Player of the Match after her outstanding performance in which she assisted two tries and scored two of her own.
This included a phenomenal solo effort from 25 metres out where she dummied to break the line, fended away from a cover defender and then beat the fullback with another dummy to score.
RLWC 2021 Highlights: New Zealand vs Cook Islands
In just 29 minutes, Mya Hill-Moana ran for 52 metres from four runs, as well as making sixteen tackles with zero misses in a strong knock in the front row.
Nineteen-year-old Otesa Pule played the entire 80 minutes in the second row, in which she tallied up just under 130 running metres and six tackle busts, as well as offloading the ball on one occasion and making a whopping 30 tackles.
Australia vs France: Jillaroos Record Convincing Win over France
The Australian Jillaroos have toppled France in the second match of their respective World Cup campaigns, scoring seventeen tries and conceding none in the 92-0 victory.
Star centre Jessica Sergis was unstoppable in attack, putting up three tackle busts, two line break assists and a line break of her own as well as scoring an incredible four tries and assisting two others.
Sergis' Four-Try Blitz
Starting at lock on her Australian debut, Keilee Joseph ran for a whopping 182 metres with 65 post contact metres as well as breaking four tackles in 61 minutes of play.
Second rower Olivia Kernick packed plenty of punch from the bench with almost 100 run metres and two tackle busts, as well as a spectacular try where she ran off a Tarryn Aiken short ball to break the defensive line before fending her way past the fullback to score.
