RLWC Daily Wrap: World Cup Final
The fourth ranked national side has shocked the world and claimed the Rugby League World Cup in a dominant display.
There aren’t too many things that can make something as awesome as the Haka, Sipi Tau and Siva Tau better.
One was the insanely passionate and loud crowds we saw in 2017 as the Jason Taumalolo-led Tonga took on the world.
The second is being able to see the breath of the players as they display their passion on a cold and crisp English evening at Old Trafford.
It’s just badass.
You couldn’t ask for a better start to a Rugby League World Cup Final.
Unfortunately, the wonderfully ferocious Siva Tau was the highlight of Samoa’s night.
From minute one, Samoa just wasn’t really in the contest. The Kangaroos' defence was smothering. Not allowing anyone (other than Brio To’o) to make many metres.
I wrote in my previous article that Samoa had to dominate the middle and kick well if they were any chance of winning. Their halves kicked poorly, off the back on a fragile platform.
Australia should have put up a cricket score, but a combination of strong Samoan defence and a lack of continuity within the Kangaroos allowed the game to stay (relatively) competitive.
Key Moments
There weren’t too many big moments in the match, due to Australia’s dominance. There were a few plays, however, that were either crucial to the end result, or could have been if things had gone a bit differently.
James Tedesco keeps it in (or does he?)
Very early in the match, Chanel Harris-Tavita attempted a 40/20 from dummy half.
With a pin-point kick, the Samoan hooker looked to have provided his team a wonderful attacking chance… before Tedesco made the effort to dive and tap the ball back in perfectly. Upon replay, however, it looked like Tedesco had a toe out of bounds as he touched the ball.
Samoa should have had the ball inside the Australian 20m line. We’ll never know if anything changes from that one call, and I’m more than happy to go with the on-field decision. It was close. But, it was a turning point.
A series of unfortunate events for Samoa
When playing against Australia, you have to be perfect. You can afford to make very few mistakes, if any.
Samoa learned that the hard way as their kick went too deep, providing Australia with a 20m restart. Jack Wighton took full advantage and Australia rolled up the field, culminating in Latrell Mitchell powering his way through Joseph Sua’ali’i to score the first points of the match.
Not how you want to start the second half
Down only 14-0 at halftime, the Samoan side wasn’t out of the game as they returned to begin the second half.
A few perfect sets, finished off with a good kick and chase, leading to an early try to make it 14-6 with thirty minutes left… that was a plausible future.
As it went, Stephen Crichton dropped the ball in the 41st minute. It was pretty much game over from that point.
Key Players
Junior Paulo
The Samoan Captain doesn’t just lead the war dance. Unsurprisingly, Paulo was once again Samoa’s best. Running over 150m from 14 runs, breaking 3 tackles and making almost 40 tackles, Junior was doing everything he could in his 72 minutes.
James Tedesco
The World Cup-winning captain, Tedesco was exceptional. As he almost always is. Great positioning out the back, Tedesco was everywhere he needed to be both in attack and defence. He finished the game with 234 metres, 7 tackle breaks, 1 line break and 2 tries.
Josh Addo-Carr
The man that wasn’t picked for New South Wales once again proved why he should have been. Just his personality is enough of a reason, but the hole-finding and speed around the ruck that he provided tonight absolutely tore the Samoan defence to shreds.
Liam Martin
The hard-running Penrith forward continued to reinforce the decision to select him over players like Cameron Murray. One of Australia’s best players in every game he has played, Martin’s aggression, effort and powerful running have been a key weapon for the Kangaroos not on both sides of the ball.
Don’t fret. The RLWC is over, but Outofmyleague continues!
I’m unsure what the hell I’ll be writing and what, if anything, will be kept in a paid tier, but I’ll be here. Stay tuned and keep those email notifications on.
Still here? Want to support but hate the thought of receiving more emails? Buy me a coffee instead!
See what I’m trying to build and want to get in at the ground-level? Subscribe! It’s completely free, allows you to receive every new post straight into your inbox and lets me know I’m not writing into the abyss.