Australia beat Samoa 44–12 as Reece Walsh scored his first international hat-trick, reaching its 16th successive men’s final. New Zealand beat Tonga 34–10 and will face Australia in Brisbane.
Australia beat Samoa 44–12 at Sydney Football Stadium to reach the men’s Rugby League World Cup final, with Reece Walsh scoring 3 tries. Australia has won the past 3 men’s world titles and beat Samoa in the previous final.
New Zealand secured the other final place with a 34–10 win over Tonga in Newcastle, reaching its first men’s final since 2013. New Zealand last won the title in 2008.
Australia led 26–2 at halftime and scored eight tries in all. Walsh completed his first international hat-trick by scoring after each of Samoa’s second-half tries.
Jojo Fifita scored both of Tonga’s tries to put his team ahead after Briton Nikora’s opening try for New Zealand. Dane Gagai scored before halftime to restore New Zealand’s lead, and Isaiya Katoa kicked Tonga’s only goal.
New Zealand led 12–10 at halftime and scored 22 unanswered points in the second half as the weather worsened. Casey McLean and Jahrome Hughes scored within five minutes after the break, turning the match in New Zealand’s favor; Hughes scored after Tonga misjudged a kick. Xavier Willison and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad added the remaining tries. Jamayne Isaako kicked 5 goals.
Tonga was seeking its first World Cup final. Jason Taumalolo switched international allegiance from New Zealand to Tonga in 2017, when Tonga became the first tier-two nation to beat a top-tier side by defeating New Zealand at the World Cup. Kristian Woolf’s Tonga beat England 30–12 in its opening match on 17 October and came from behind to defeat Samoa the weekend before the semifinal. Before Australia played Samoa, the Guardian argued that New Zealand could be considered the final’s favorite whichever team advanced.
New Zealand beat Fiji 78–0, Australia beat Cook Islands 66–6 to top Pool A, and Tonga beat Samoa 20–18, eliminating England despite its 34–12 win over Papua New Guinea. Australia also beat Wales 124–6 with 21 tries, a score BBC Sport describes as an international record.
New Zealand coach Stacey Jones started full-back Kalyn Ponga just 23 days after he fractured his forearm. Ponga had initially been named in reserve and then among the interchange players. Ponga set up Nikora’s try and contributed to Gagai’s. BBC Sport credited Ponga with 3 try assists and 193 meters gained.
Ponga also made try-saving defensive interventions, including stopping Lehi Hopoate from passing to Isaiya Katoa with New Zealand leading 12–10. Willison scored after Tonga failed to gather a short dropout. Hughes’s and Ponga’s kicking helped New Zealand handle the worsening weather. Isaako converted the first four New Zealand tries in swirling wind and driving rain, establishing a 14-point lead.
Australia and New Zealand are scheduled to meet at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium on 15 November 2026. Kickoff is set for 08:35 GMT (12:35 Yerevan time), as part of a doubleheader with the women’s final.
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Australia’s 36–22 win leaves Fiji needing to beat New Zealand to keep its semi-final hopes alive.
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Herbie Farnworth and Dom Young each scored three tries, but England still need a heavy win over Papua New Guinea and Tonga to beat Samoa to reach the semi-finals.
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