Key events
53 mins: Munster almost jags through the blue defence off the scrum but earns a set restart for his troubles. On tackle five the Storm schemer gets involved again and almost dummies his way over. Then Dearden has a crack and gets held up on the line! The Kangaroos have been perpetual motion with ball in hand tonight, so much more fluid and confident than we’ve seen in previous matches.
51 mins: Australia almost make Samoa pay immediately. Grant and Munster draw bodies in the middle of the park then Dearden unleashes Walsh on the right edge. Their are numbers on his outside but Fa’alogo gets a hand to an attempted intercept and spoils the party.
49 mins: Oh dear Spencer. A second cold fumble from the big No 15 tonight, to go with the sin-binning and Samoa are on the back foot again.
48 mins: It’s 13 v 13 again with Leniu back in the fray, but he and his side have a mountain to climb with just half an hour of footy left to go.
CONVERTED TRY! Australia 32-8 Samoa (Walsh, 47)
Reece Walsh – zero to hero! The fullback doesn’t dwell on his error, hitting the line on the burst, spinning and crashing over. The try originated with the scrum on the left wing. Four tackles later Samoa are scrambling with too many defenders committed to the ruck. Grant is alert to the opportunity, he knows there’s an overlap on the left, and Walsh is the finisher par excelence.
Munster drills another handy goal.
45 mins: Can Samoa build some pressure? No. Ioelu knocks on attempting to grasp a risky Mariota offload and Australia have a scrum 30m out.
44 mins: Walsh left the ground to take the mark, but he needn’t have. Somewhere between taking off and attempting the catch the wind got hold of the ball and drifted it close to the fullback’s face, turning a routine defusal into a horror show.
CONVERTED TRY! Australia 26-8 Samoa (Crichton, 43)
Samoa needed an early score – and they have it! A routine set, a routine bomb on the last, and Walsh deals with it like Phil Tufnell under a top-edge at fine-leg! Trbojevic can’t pick up the pieces and Crichton has the simple task of picking up the loose pill and dabbing it next to the posts. The 12 men are still in this!
41 mins: Australia’s defensive line is aggressive and up into the face of the undermanned Samoan forwards as they resume the contest. The Kangaroos pack all make good ground heading into the breeze then the backs run on the last, looking to exploit the man advantage. The ball gets shifted to the right, then as it’s hurled infield it’s picked off by Tago and the danger passes. Not the intensity though with Luai picking a scrap with Grant behind play.
“We love what he does,” says Kevin Walters about Reece Walsh, but offers a blunt “no” when asked if we’ll see the backflip again this world cup.
13 Australians and 12 Samoans make their way back out onto the Allianz Stadium turf for the second 40 minutes.
While I catch my breath, I’ll hand you over to Gavin Willacy with some insight from the England camp into what makes for a healthy touring party – even if results don’t follow.
All reports suggest Brian McDermott ran a happy camp and remained upbeat after the early elimination… Bonding players who were trying to smash each other a few days before the England squad finally got together has always been a challenge. But players and staff alike believe McDermott managed it. “The NRL players joining with the Super League players has been so easy,” said McDermott. “I thought it was something I was going to need to address, but some of the senior players have been great. We’ve made massive strides in a short period. There’s loads to be pleased with.”
“Wonder if the pre-match Siva Tau is actually counter-productive and has an impact on focus,” asks Michael. Ordinarily I would say no, but tonight’s was unlike anything I’ve ever seen with Samoa’s players marching from their initial huddle to stand literally nose-to-nose with their Australian opponents. It was the most intense prematch confrontation I can recall and it clearly created an extreme level of tension. Did that then spill into Samoa’s indisciplined half? I’m not qualified to say but it doesn’t seem like an unreasonable assumption.
That was easily Australia’s best half of the world cup so far. The forward pack won the battle up front, the playmakers are all on, and the outside backs have delivered.
It’s worth remembering the strong wind at their backs though, which will be an asset to Samoa in the second half.
Half-time: Australia 26-2 Samoa
Now Junior Paulo is having words with Adam Gee as the half-time siren blows. Samoa need the interval to reset and find a way back into this contest.
39 mins: We saw how emotional Samoa were during the anthems and the Siva Tau, and they have not had the rub of the green from the referees and the rugby league gods, but they have done themselves no favours with their indiscipline. And that was very very dumb from a player with form in that regard.
Yellow Card – Samoa (Leniu, 38)
Not the sharpest tool in the box, Spencer Leniu spent the seconds immediately after Australia’s try remonstrating with Adam Gee. He will have ten minutes by himself to dwell on his decision making.
CONVERTED TRY! Australia 26-2 Samoa (Best, 37)
Adam Gee keeps it 13 v 13 with the bunker failing to identify any serious foul play at that coming together. Australia gain territory from the penalty though, then they’re gifted a set restart on their attacking 30. Munster snipes to the 20, Murray rolls off a couple of tackles and finds the offload, Preston is in support, and Best finishes the move in the left corner!
Munster makes me eat my words with a superb touchline conversion.
35 mins: Samoa make little ground with their set coming out of defence, then the kick-chase dumps Bostock to the ground dangerously. Walsh leads the charge for Australia as a melee threatens to erupt. Spotfires break out all over the place. Luai was responsible for the dangerous lift that sparked it all off.
TRY! Australia 20-2 Samoa (Walsh, 33)
Of course Australia score from the next play. Dearden and Walsh free Staggs down the right. Then the ball is shifted quickly to the left where Walsh inserts himself back into the line again. He stands up Volkman, teases Crichton, and glides through the gap and over for the try. Unsatisfied with the spectacle, Walsh then unfurls an audacious backflip!
Munster absolutely butchers his second kick in succession. Surely Australia can’t go into a world cup final with Melbourne’s fourth choice kicker as their primary taker of conversions when New Zealand have dead-eye Isaako?
32 mins: That was some serious green rubbing for the Kangaroos. The big decisions have gone Australia’s way so far, and the crowd are making sure the refereeing fraternity knows about it.
31 mins: Tabuai-Fidow inserts himself into the game twice in the same set to provide some impetus. It helps create some field position for Luai to launch a mighty bomb on the last. Manuleleua is on it in a flash, his deep breaths and heavy footsteps haunting Reece Walsh’s nightmares. The aerial contest is a toss-up – and the ball comes down in Stephen Crichton’s waiting arms! The centre can’t believe his luck as he skips between the uprights! Samoa are back!
Or are they? Was Manuleleua offside? It is marginal – but the bunker says play on. Now, what about the contest for the mark? Manuleleua gets first touch – and it deflects into Walsh. But did it deflect into the defender forward or backwards? The decision is knock-on! Devastation for Samoa!
30 mins: Samoa’s outside backs have barely had a touch. Australia’s forwards have done a great job of grinding through their work, completing sets, and giving nothing silly away.
28 mins: This has been much more confident and disciplined from Australia so far, Samoa will be wondering why this version of the Kangaroos waited until tonight to turn up.
TRY! Australia 16-2 Samoa (Trbojevic, 25)
Trbojevic won’t be denied a second time! After the scrum establishes a platform in centre field, Australia attack down the left where Best is held up inches from the line. The ball is then switched with pace and precision to the opposite flank where Trbojevic has time and space to run around the outside and dot down.
Munster misses his first tricky shot of the night.
23 mins: Australia think they could be in at the right corner after brilliant wing play from Trbojevic, but the bunker doesn’t even check the questionable grounding because Murray knocked-on in the build-up. The Kangaroos remain on the attack though because Leniu spills his first carry after marching off the interchange!
22 mins: Samoa are building up a head of steam again with McEwen looking for trouble and Tabuai-Fidow pressuring Walsh in the air – but there’s an offside call on the kick-chase and the Kangaroos get another reprieve. Australia getting the rub of the green in this opening quarter.
20 mins: Samoa grind for five, testing the Australian middle defence, then cut left again for Luai, but his grubber in-goal has no chasers. Nonetheless Walsh still pats the ball dead for a drop-out. And the Kangaroos win the drop-out – despite the ball not appearing to cross the plane of the 10m line. That was a lucky escape.
19 mins: The first promising set in an age from Samoa. The forwards make inroads up the guts then the backs get to work on the left. Luai sharks down the short side on the last, Tago chips ahead, and Walsh is forced to run the ball back from his own 10m line. And the Kangaroos spill the ball coming out of defence – Best smashed in contact – and Samoa can hit back!
17 mins: After that bright start Samoa have been blown away by Australia. The forwards have been locked in unlike previous matches with Koloamatangi justifying his start and Yeo impressing early, while the spine has looked crisp with Munster and Grant looking more like their old selves.
15 mins: Munster is kicking goals for Australia, by the way. His two efforts so far have been unmissable.
CONVERTED TRY! Australia 12-2 Samoa (Preston, 14)
The drop-out, into the wind, fails to cross the 10m plane and Australia launch another assault. Staggs wrestles his way within inches and wins a set restart for his troubles. Koloamatangi almost touches down against the padding – and finds a magnificent offload that is recycled quickly to create enough of a gap for Preston to barge through for a second six-point score in quick succession.
12 mins: Penalty Australia for a clear strip in the tackle, then Luai compounds the indiscipline by kicking the ball away, drawing Gee’s ire. The Kangaroos can load up again with Grant and Munster directing traffic but on the last it’s over to Walsh – but his long looping pass out wide isn’t precise enough. Trbojevic does brilliantly to collect the bobbling grenade, cut inside, dab the ball on his boot and cause havoc in-goal, but Molo is first to dive on the loose Steeden.
10 mins: Plenty of hard running from the Kangaroos now with Walsh, Bostock, and Yeo all gaining good ground. Incidentally, that strong breeze is behind Australia’s backs this half. They will be keen to make it pay.
CONVERTED TRY! Australia 6-2 Samoa (Dearden, 8)
Tom Dearden you star! The five-eighth takes the second pass off the scrum, attacks the line, dummies to his outside, leaves Tevaga for dead, and streaks his way under the crossbar for a scintillating individual score. Samoa were preoccupied with Reece Walsh looping around the outside and forgot to pay due care and attention to the ball carrier.
7 mins: Tino releases some pressure with a strong carry, gathering plenty of metres after contact. Bostock then thinks he’s won the aerial duel with To’o after Munster’s bomb but the ball emerges in blue hands. Australia have a little pep from the contest though and soon convert it into a forecful gang tackle on Crichton – and the centre loses possession! Not only that but he incorrectly calls for a captain’s challenge. First attacking opportunity for the Kangaroos.
6 mins: Australia have had just one set in the opening six minutes. Samoa complete their fourth with Luai kicking deep to the left corner on the last and Tom Trbojevic makes little ground in reply. All the energy is with the team in blue in these early stages.
Penalty! Australia 0-2 Samoa (Crichton, 5)
They have the crowd, they have the early running, and now Samoa have the lead.
4 mins: Mariota is straight into the action off the bench, Molo has a rumble, then Paulo, and Australia are penalised for offside! The Kangaroos have been rattled in defence early. Samoa will take the simple two on offer.
2 mins: Big Tino takes the first hit-up, Liam Martin follows suit, Jacob Preston is rocked, Isaah Yeo completes the hard work and Cameron Munster completes the set with a high kick. That was solid from both teams but Samoa soon gain the upper hand with a set restart that quickly leads to a penalty against Fa’asuamaleaui for a high shot on McEwen. The Knight is immediately off for an HIA and the Titan is on report. Volkman will kick his side deep into attacking territory.
Kick-off!
The penultimate match of the 2026 men’s Rugby League World Cup is under way…
As they break, the look in Stephen Crichton’s eye is murderous. What a piece of sporting theatre.
Brian To’o and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui are touching foreheads! Jazz Tevaga is all up in Jack Bostock’s grill. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Australia stand on halfway and Samoa advance until they’re nose to nose with the Kangaroos! This is astonishing!
And that emotional intensity somehow manages to rise with Samoa’s spine-tingling Siva Tau, instigated by Junior Paulo.
There are tears streaming down the faces of Samoa’s players as they lock arms and sing their national anthem. Ronald Volkman is is in floods, Brian To’o is overcome, it is so emotionally charged.
It also started raining as the sides emerged from the tunnel, so we can add a slippery Steeden to the mix. These are far from ideal playing conditions.
What a sight, hundreds of Samoan flags streaming in the wind as the two teams make their way onto Allianz Stadium. The Pacific Island nations have transformed this competition.
In case you needed reminding, Australia are wearing green with gold trim, Samoa are dripping in blue.
The NRL’s form referee, Adam Gee, is in charge of tonight’s proceedings.
Conditions: The south east of Australia is experiencing an unseasonal cold snap so tonight’s temperature will be around 15C, but made to feel much colder thanks to a serious southerly. We saw last night how much a strong wind can impact a game so both teams will need to be wise to the conditions and adjust accordingly.
For anyone watching this match in Australia, I hope you’ve enjoyed Trent Robinson’s punditry as much as I have. The Roosters coach has been a superb TV analyst, offering intelligent insight delivered matter of factly.
Tonight’s victors will take on New Zealand in next Sunday’s world cup final. The Kiwis look the most accomplished side in the competition and last night downed Tonga with Jahrome Hughes pulling the strings and Kalyn Ponga showing his class just three weeks after fracturing his left arm.
The crowd is building for the second match of the day. Earlier Australia’s Jillaroos reached their fifth consecutive World Cup final, but they were pushed hard by Fiji Bulikula.
Like a US midterm electoral map it is a sea of blue inside Allianz Stadium this evening. It is a sellout and the vast majority of fans are here to cheer on Samoa, not the nominal home team, Australia.
Team News
Australia: Kevin Walters revealed his hand last weekend so it is no surprise to see Reece Walsh starting ahead of James Tedesco at fullback, and Tom Dearden beating Sam Walker in the race for a starting berth in the halves. Latrell Mitchell and Cameron Murray are fit enough to make the bench, where they will join Ethan Strange, who retains his place after an eye-catching cameo against Cook Islands.
Samoa: Just one enforced change for Ben Gardiner with Ronald Volkman replacing the injured Chanel Harris-Tavita at five-eighth. The Eel came on for the Warrior against Tonga after the starting No 6 pulled his hamstring kicking for goal.
Samoa XIII
1. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, 2. Brian To’o, 3. Izack Tago, 4. Stephen Crichton, 5. Sua Fa’alogo, 6. Ronald Volkman, 7. Jarome Luai (c), 8. Francis Molo, 14. Jazz Tevaga, 10. Junior Paulo, 11. Connelly Lemuelu, 12. Jermaine McEwen, 13. Francis Manuleleua
Interchange: 9. Benaiah Ioelu, 15. Spencer Leniu, 16. Shawn Blore, 17. Ata Mariota, 18. Clayton Faulalo, 19. Deine Mariner
Australia XIII
1. Reece Walsh 2. Jack Bostock 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Bradman Best 5. Tom Trbojevic 6. Cameron Munster 7. Tom Dearden 15. Keaon Koloamatangi 9. Harry Grant 10. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui 11. Jacob Preston 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo (c).
Interchange: 8. Patrick Carrigan, 14. Ethan Strange, 16. Cameron Murray, 17. Reuben Cotter, 18. Latrell Mitchell, 21. Sam Walker
Preamble
Jonathan Howcroft
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of Australia v Samoa in the second semi-final of the 2026 men’s Rugby League World Cup. Kick-off at Allianz Stadium in Sydney is from 8.05pm local time (9.05am GMT).
The penultimate fixture of a thoroughly entertaining tournament will determine who will start the 2026 men’s rugby league world cup final against New Zealand as underdogs. It would be among the greatest upsets in the sport’s history if Australia are not on the bill to face the Kiwis in Brisbane next weekend but the Kangaroos have yet to hit any kind of form and they will be facing a fiercely motivated foe in Samoa.
To say Australia’s world cup so far has been underwhelming but would be an understatement. Kevin Walters’ squad and team selection has invited criticism, his forward pack has been well beaten twice, and matches have been won by moments of individual brilliance as opposed to methodical representative football. If the strategy has to been to ease into the contest after a gruelling NRL season then tonight is when the shackles have to be removed.
Samoa boast a side studded with State of Origin matchwinners, many of whom would command places in the current Australian line-up. And they will have a point to prove after falling narrowly to Tonga last time out in a match where they had enough chances to win.
They have the power up front to rattle Australia, and the strike out wide to finish them off. The challenge will be whether the spine can control proceedings when the stakes are so high.
I’ll be back with final team lists and more shortly. Please send me your emails and keep me company throughout the evening. The address is jonathan.howcroft.freelance@theguardian.com.
