Australia overcame an early scare to hammer Fiji 42-8 in the first game of their latest defence of the Rugby League World Cup at Headingley on Saturday.
The underdogs scored first but were then put back in their place by an increasingly rampant Kangaroos side as Josh Addo-Carr scored twice and Harry Grant made a great impression off the bench for Mal Meninga’s outfit.
Fiji shocked the holders by going over first, Semi Valemei catching James Tedesco sleeping as he raced onto Siti Moceidreke’s grubber kick to score. But Australia were in front before the quarter mark, Jeremiah Nanai crashing over after good work by Daly Cherry-Evans to leave Valentine Holmes with a simple conversion under the sticks.
READ MORE:
Nanai thought he’d grabbed a second soon after but video referee Grant Atkins ruled that he had been tackled short of the line after excellent defensive cover from the Fijian middles. Still, the Kangaroos had an eight-point lead before long as Addo-Carr made a trademark run from deep, stepped past Sunia Turuva with ease and completed a 95-metre breakaway try to make it 12-4.
And the great start from Fiji was a forgotten relic by the time Angus Crichton plonked the ball down from a Cameron Munster pass to put Australia three scores in front going into the sheds at half-time.
Mal Meninga’s side came out of the traps much better in the second half, and Munster was again at the heart of it as they claimed their fourth try. He took the ball to the line before feeding Addo-Carr, then supporting to collect a return pass and then sending in Latrell Mitchell for the score.
Grant then made and scored a try on his Kangaroos debut. His big 40/20 set up the field position, and from dummy half a couple of tackles later he made a lateral run to escape multiple defenders before straightening and crashing over.
It was 36-4 on the hour mark, as captain James Tedesco collected Cherry-Evans’ pass then took a huge step to make himself some space before darting through a gap to score. Grant then turned on the magic again, going from dummy half and poking a kick through for Addo-Carr to chase and ground for his second of the night.
Fiji did get a try back when Sunia Turuva chased on to Brandon Wakeham kick and planted a hand on the ball to the delight of the Leeds crowd, but it was far too little too late to make a material difference.
The Kangaroos head to Coventry for their next fixture, taking on Scotland on Friday night, while Fiji meet Italy in Newcastle on Saturday.
*18+ | BeGambleAware
