Rugby League World Cup 2017 Match Reports

RIGHTS FREE RLWC2017 MATCH REPORTS

Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Fiji all got their Rugby League World Cup 2017 campaigns off to a flying start on Saturday.

The Kumuls defeated Wales 50-6 before a packed house at Oil Search National Football Stadium in Port Moresby, the Kiwis overcame an emotion-charged Samoa 38-8 in Auckland and Fiji downed a spirited USA 58-12 in Townsville.

The matches followed Australia’s 18-4 win over England in Friday night's World Cup opener at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, which was watched by an average national television audience of 1.4 million viewers and reached 2.59 million viewers on the Seven Network.

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Papua New Guinea v Wales

PNG captain David Mead and backrower Rhys Martin set new try scoring and points scoring marks to spearhead the Kumuls to their biggest win ever in a World Cup match, beating Wales 50-6 in Port Moresby.

New Zealand v Samoa

New Zealand scored five unanswered second half tries to blow Samoa off the park in a physical opening round World Cup clash in Auckland, but the win was soured by the loss of centre Gerard Beale with a leg injury.

Fiji v USA

Jarryd Hayne equaled the Rugby League World Cup all-time try-scoring record as he inspired Fiji to a resounding 58-12 victory over the USA in Townsville on Saturday night.

Australia v England

England may have to qualify for the Rugby League World Cup final for Sam Burgess to play again in the tournament, while Australian lock Jake Trbojevic has been ruled out after suffering a torn pectoral muscle.

Below are the updated tables ahead of Sunday's matches, which include a double-header in Cairns featuring Scotland against Tonga and Ireland against Italy, while France and Lebanon clash in Canberra.

Pool A Won Lost Draw For Against Diff Points
Australia 1 0 0 18 4 +14 2
England 0 1 0 4 18 -14 0
France - - - - - - -
Lebanon - - - - - - -
Pool B Won Lost Draw For Against Diff Points
NZ 1 0 0 38 8 +30 2
Samoa 0 1 0 8 38 -30 0
Scotland - - - - - - -
Tonga - - - - - - -
Pool C Won Lost Draw For Against Diff Points
PNG 1 0 0 50 6 +44 2
Wales 0 1 0 6 50 -44 0
Ireland - - - - - - -
Pool D Won Lost Draw For Against Diff Points
Fiji 1 0 0 58 12 +46 2
USA 0 1 0 12 58 -46 0
Italy - - - - - - -
Teams in Group C and D play one crossover game against a team in the other pool.
Kick off times for Sunday's matches are as follows:

Sunday, October 29 (local times): Ireland v Italy, Barlow Park, Cairns (2pm) and Scotland v Tonga (4pm) in a double-header; France v Lebanon, Canberra Stadium, Canberra (4pm).

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