Rugby League World Cup has reached the semi finals stage with the huge Australia v New Zealand clash to kick it all off, conveniently timed on Remembrance Day for which war’s end saw the birth of the Anzac name. Anzac spirit will be put aside for 80 minutes with a World Cup grand final place on the line.
Our Australia v New Zealand Match Centre has a preview, stats, team lists before the game and a summary of the match afterwards with thoughts and stats. More than you could ever need or want.
If you want more information on all the results from the Group Stages and beyond – follow this link here.
Australia v New Zealand Match Summary
Australia have booked their place in the final with a 16-14 win over New Zealand at Elland Road on Friday night.
The game started off brightly enough with an Australian attack on the Kiwi line and a Ronaldo Mulitalo break down the sideline in the first five minutes, showing both teams were here to play good rugby league despite a World Cup final berth being on the line.
After looking the better side on balance of early play, New Zealand took the lead with the first try of the match going to Jahrome Hughes. Dylan Brown put on a great cross field kick which was taken by Joey Manu who delivered an offload to Hughes as he feel to the ground. The easy conversion gave the Kiwi a 6-0 lead.
New Zealand were well on top, but in the 15th minute came a moment of magic from Josh Addo-Carr. A seemingly innocuous but ultimately perfect cross field bomb from Ben Hunt floated in the air long enough for a charging Josh Add-Carr to catch the ball with ease and no opposition to score in the corner. Nathan Cleary added the two points for a leveling 6-6 score line.
New Zealand retook the lead in the 25th minutes when gifted an easy penalty from an accidental offside.
After a break down the sideline from unlikely winger Liam Martin, Australia scored through Valentine Holmes with the next play. After going from side to side, a bullet pass from Nathan Cleary to Jack Wighton saw the centre charge within a metre of a try, but was initially stopped by a heroic Joey Manu tackle on the line. However Manu slid off allowing Wighton to pass from off the ground to a waiting Valentine Holmes. Cleary missed the conversion but Australia still led 10-8.
But the lead wouldn’t last as the Kiwis score three minutes before half time. The try was set up by another Ronaldo Mulitalo break down the sideline and he was able to draw and pass to Dylan Brown. Jordan Rapana continued his good night with the boot and added the two points.
New Zealand probably deserved the half time lead, with Australia’s tries coming from moments of brilliance rather than sustained pressure that the Kiwis were arguably applying more.
HALF TIME – AUSTRALIA 10 NEW ZEALAND 14
New Zealand looked to have struck first in the second half in the 44th minute through Peter Hiku after Josh Addo-Carr spilled a bomb, but was ruled out for an offside chase.
Minutes later and an almighty scuffle broke out between the sides. It came after a Nathan Cleary knock on and some over celebration by Isaiah Papali’i. New Zealand got the penalty as Cameron Murray pushed the first push. Ronaldo Mulitalo lucky not to be punished for running in as fast as he breaks through the line.
In a see-sawing, quality contest, Australia were next to score. Cameron Murray charged over from 10 metres out after a penalty tap from Nathan Cleary, diving in low and hard against the posts. The easy conversion gave Australia back the lead 16-14.
Mistakes were creeping into both team’s games as the pressure of a World Cup final awaited. With a little side of push and shove greeting a few of the errors. 20 minutes to go, and it was genuinely anyone’s game to win.
Australia blew a golden to extend their lead not long after the hour mark, but a full set of six on New Zealand’s line was wasted by an Australian player pushing over a Kiwi defender for no good reason. But they had taken over as the slightly more dominant side.
A Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad lit up the crowd in the 72nd minute and almost led a brilliant New Zealand try from Peter Hiku in partnership with Jahrome Hughes in the corner, but the millimetres weren’t on the Kiwi side this time. The thrilling contest remained at 16-14.
Nathan Cleary almost dived over in the 76th minutes but was dragged down just short. New Zealand had maybe two shots left at Australia, and the first one was starting from well inside their own territory and produced no result.
Australia gave New Zealand one more good chance when they kicked dead, giving the Kiwis seven tackles to steal the game. It came down to a cross field kick that was handled well by Latrell Mitchell, which effectively won the game for Australia.
In all honesty either side deserved to win, and Australia just had the extra moments of magic to get them across the line. If England make the final over the other side of the draw, we can see the home side springing an upset on current form.
Australia v New Zealand Final Score
AUSTRALIA 16
Tries: Josh Addo-Carr 15′ Valentine Holmes 29′ Cameron Murray 52′
Goals: Nathan Cleary 2/3
NEW ZEALAND 14
Tries: Jahrome Hughes 10′ Dylan Brown 37′
Goals: Jordan Rapana 3/3
Australia v New Zealand Points of Interest
- We wonder if the RWLC organisers had their hearts in their mouth early, after allegedly booking tickets home for New Zealand for the day after this game.
- Australian players seemed very interested in Isaiah Papali’i’s underpants, seemingly puling down the Kiwi forwards pants on way too many occasions.
- Whilst we have got used to the different numbers of the Australian squad, it is still a stupid idea we hope never returns.
Australia v New Zealand Match Stats
Australia v New Zealand Teams
AUSTRALIA
1 James Tedesco
4 Valentine Holmes
8 Latrell Mitchell
10 Jack Wighton
9 Josh Addo-Carr
7 Cameron Munster
14 Nathan Cleary
5 Jake Trbojevic
3 Ben Hunt
6 Reagan Campbell-Gillard
17 Angus Crichton
21 Liam Martin
24 Isaah Yeo
20 Harry Grant
11 Cameron Murray
13 Patrick Carrigan
18 Tino Fa’asuamaleaui
NEW ZEALAND
1 Joseph Manu
2 Ronaldo Mulitalo
4 Peta Hiku
21 Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
5 Jordan Rapana
6 Dylan Brown
7 Jahrome Hughes
8 Jesse Bromwich
9 Brandon Smith
10 James Fisher-Harris
11 Isaiah Papali’i
17 Briton Nikora
13 Joseph Tapine
14 Kieran Foran
15 Moses Leota
16 Nelson Asofa-Solomona
20 Isaac Liu
Australia v New Zealand Preview
Australia and New Zealand both have something common coming into this match, other than being semi finalists, is that they both played arguably their worst game of the tournament in the quarter finals. Australia doing enough to get past Lebanon and New Zealand scraping home against Fiji.
The Kangaroos seemed to have spent most of their time finding the perfect starting side, which seemed pretty obvious given how Penrith have been dominating the NRL over the past three seasons, but maybe we’re being harsh. But they certainly haven’t looked as dominant as they could have been, and really weren’t great in their quarter final win over Lebanon.
But with coach Mal Meninga looking to have settled on a side, with Nathan Cleary running the show and Ben Hunt back in the side, they do look a more complete side. The spine is now what it should always have been, with the added bonus of the excellent Harry Grant coming off the bench for impact.
New Zealand meanwhile almost fell at the quarter final stage for a second consecutive World Cup at the hands of Fiji, with only a late try sealing or stealing the game.
But does New Zealand’s tougher game leading into the semi final clash give them an advantage?
The clash of two of the best fullbacks in rugby league should be a cracker, and there’s loads of speed and excitement on the wings for both sides. Latrell Mitchell loves a big game and is due for a big match. But for these players to shine the forwards will need to get the ball rolling, and that is a battle that is very hard to pick on paper at the moment.
A stat or two before signing off – Australia have lost just one of 12 games v New Zealand in the UK and won all five World Cup clashes in the UK. Australia have also won six of the last seven clashes anywhere. With an average total points scored of just 33 in that run. So despite all the attacking weapons, the overall points scored is quite low. Australia’s average winning margin of those last six wins is 18 points.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
It’s hard to go past the two fullbacks for either side, both have been outstanding during the Rugby League World Cup. James Tedesco has been solid at the back as ever, and he is hopefully ready to fire for Australia after being rested for the second half against Lebanon. His Roosters team mate Joey Manu has been one of the stars, racking up some big stats throughout the tournament. At any other NRL club he would be a starting fullback, but he gets at least one more chance to shine.
The two halfback are also key to the game. Nathan Cleary appears to have been given the starting role now, and his combinations with the other Penrith players are key, especially Isaah Yeo who has taken to playing for Australia with ease. Jahrome Hughes though is still a game breaker, and the Kiwis will need it up against an Australian defence which doesn’t give up much.
PREDICTION
Australia 26 New Zealand 18
Australia v New Zealand RLWC2021 Stats So Far
AVERAGE TEAM STATS PER GAME
AVERAGE PLAYER STATS PER GAME
