Australia continues their dominance as they secure yet another Rugby League World Cup title

As Kangaroos players hoisted Australia’s 12th Paul Barriere Trophy at Manchester’s Old Trafford on Saturday night – it signalled to fans and pundits alike that although international rugby league gets more competitive with each major tournament – the men in green and gold continue to set the benchmark. 

After a relatively easy group stage against tier 2 nations Fiji, Scotland and Italy – Mal Meninga’s side took on an up-and-coming Lebanon outfit in the quarter-final. While the Middle Eastern nation were competitive throughout the opening stages, the Aussies’ experience and depth proved too much as they pulled away in the second half to win by 44 points. 

That set up a mouthwatering semi-final clash with the second world ranked side New Zealand, who fielded arguably their strongest team in history. The contest delivered and then some, with the back-and-forth affair going right down to the wire. A late try to Cameron Murray was ultimately the difference, as the Kangaroos scraped through 16-14 to secure yet another World Cup final appearance.

While many expected England to be their opposition from the other side of the draw, it was the star-studded and ever-improving Samoa who defied the odds to progress to their first World Cup final. Toa Samoa booked their spot with a nail-biting 27-26 victory over the hosts in the semi-final – with their centre Stephen Crichton slotting a 30-metre field goal in golden point to break the deadlock and send the Pacific Island nation to the big dance.

For those who bet on sports, Australia entered the match-up as the prohibitive favourites in the rugby league betting odds.

Once the grand final kicked off, it was immediately apparent that Samoa had the crowd behind them. Cheers rang out when they would make a half-break, while boos rained down whenever a referee’s call would go the Aussies’ way.

That appeared to lift the Kangaroos however, as their discipline, physicality and structure was nothing short of exceptional. It paid off in points, as Australia shot out to a 14-0 lead in the first half courtesy of tries to Latrell Mitchell, James Tedesco and Liam Martin. They maintained their onslaught right up until the break, however, to Samoa’s credit – they managed to limit the damage and hold their opponents to three first half tries.

It was much of the same in the second stanza, with the Kangaroos’ relentless pressure resulting in an early try to Murray. Samoa’s Brian To’o and Crichton scored two consolation four-pointers to make the scoreline respectable – yet it wasn’t enough as Tedesco and company cruised to a 30-10 win. 

Despite the emergence of a number of countries in the international game, Australian coach Meninga believes his side can continue their dominance for many years to come.

“If you go back to the 1970s, we’ve got a 90% winning record. It’s been a dominant time for an Australia team and I think we accept that really well as a group,” he said.

“The expectation is that we win tournaments, so it’s not a burden to us. We carry that with great humility and respect and we understand that. Our most ardent supporters don’t want us to win, but we accept that and we get on with business.

“All these guys are going to be together for the next three, four, five, six years. It is only the beginning of this team, I can assure you.”

For those who follow sports predictions, as a result of the World Cup win, Australia are favoured to win all of their international fixtures in 2023.