This Warriors Life bundles up the first round of Rugby League World Cup matches into a neat little package, including the performances of our Warriors reps, with the support of ComfortGlaze.
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Walsh has final say in stunning Ponga duel as Kangaroos win all-time classic
Australia and New Zealand kicked the 2026 Rugby League World Cup off in spectacular style in Sydney, producing one of the great Test matches. Origin-like intensity, drama and quality, laced with huge moments. But ultimately the Kiwis will be ruing a 24-22 loss after dictating the majority of the contest, while Kalyn Ponga’s stellar two-try debut was tempered by a likely tournament-ending broken arm.
Physically dominated during the first half, the Kangaroos went to the sheds at 10-all after two long-range intercept tries. The Kiwis did not trail during the second half until the 76th minute, when Kangaroos winger Jack Bostock completed a debut hat-trick by climbing over clubmate Jamayne Isaako for the second time. A contentious selection over James Tedesco, had an absorbing fullback battle all night with Ponga — who had scored a sensational solo try after suffering his injury — and scorched away for a crucial 70-metre try with 12 minutes to go.
Nafahu Whyte and Isaiah Papali’i were standouts in a rampaging Kiwis forward pack display, while Casey McLean and Ronaldo Mulitalo produced superb performances out wide. Jahrome Hughes had a few untidy moments as the visitors failed to close out a match in which they were behind for less than 10 minutes in total.
Warrior watch: Captain James Fisher-Harris was authoritative up front in his first stint and racked up 142 metres from 13 tackles along with 25 tackles, but he made a glaring play-the-ball error in the second half. Erin Clark came off the bench with seven for 65 minutes and 26 tackles without a miss, while he was busy in the ball-playing department. Te Maire Martin and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad were the two unused interchange players with Keano Kini replacing the injured Ponga.
Sacré bleu! Samoa annihilate France
The starkest mismatch of the World Cup’s opening weekend saw Samoa pile on 14 tries in a 78-4 drubbing of France at CommBank Stadium. Brisbane winger Deine Mariner raced in for the first try before leaving field only 10 minutes in; his replacement, Melbourne’s Sua Faalogo, had a field day with four tries and two try assists. The French resistance fell away completely as the game wore on, leaking six tries in the last 17 minutes.
Warrior watch: Warriors playmaker Chanel Harris-Tavita was a standout at five-eighth for Samoa, scoring a try, setting up another, making 88 metres from eight runs and reeling off 18 tackles.
Kumuls see off plucky Cedars in Port Moresby
Papua New Guinea scored seven tries to subdue Lebanon 42-18 in a scrappy contest at Santos National Football Stadium. After scoring the first three tries of the match and the first two tries of the second half, the Kumuls were pegged back to tenuous 18-12 and 30-18 leads by a feisty Cedars outfit that had just 46 percent possession. Two tries in the last 10 minutes from the hosts repelled the outsiders’ challenge in a match that featured 27 errors.
Warrior watch: Recent Warriors recruit Bailey Biondi-Odo came off the bench after being named at halfback, but he made the most of a 17-minute cameo by scoring the last try of the match among four runs for 55 metres.
Tonga wear down England to put one hand on semis berth
Tonga took a massive step towards a place in the World Cup’s last four courtesy of a gritty, professional 30-12 win over fellow contender England in Perth. In contrast to pre-match expectations, England created the majority of first-half chances with several exciting busts, but Tonga led 10-0 at halftime after Isaiya Katoa put Stefano Utoikamanu over with a short ball and added two penalty goals.
George Williams and Hugo Savala combined twice to set up tries for AJ Brimson and Dom Young in the second half. But physical Tonga turned the screws with three tries from grubbers close to the line and another pair of penalties. England could take some heart from making seven line-breaks to four and chalking up more run metres than the big Tongan side — but a 17-10 error count and lack of finishing polish let them down and their path to a semifinal spot is now a whole lot harder. Halfback Katoa’s performance, in particular, put the tournament’s big guns on notice.
Warrior watch: A typically high-energy Dallin Watene-Zelezniak had an eventful first half in his belated Tonga debut, finishing with 12 runs for 75 metres. Leka Halasima (eight runs for 59 metres, three tackle-breaks, 15 tackles) and Demitric Vaimauga (five runs for 42 metres, three tackle-breaks, 14 tackles) made their presence felt off the bench for the victors.
Bati blow away Kukis in first-half onslaught
A five-try blitz in the opening 40 minutes set up a 40-12 victory over Cook Islands in Newcastle on Sunday. With makeshift halves pairing Brandon Wakeham and Kurt Donoghoe pulling the strings, the Bati led 28-0 at the break and posted the first try of the second half. The Kukis stemmed the flow of points against them and crossed twice in the space of five minutes, but Wests Tigers winger put the exclamation point on a convincing win with his second try of the match.
Warrior watch: Debuting at five-eighth for Cook Islands, young Warriors half/hooker Maui Winitana-Patelesio scored a blistering solo try to put his side on the board, finished with 14 runs for 140 metres and kicked two conversions. Tyro prop Emosi Ravosai played 33 minutes off the bench for Fiji, contributing five runs for 67 metres and 10 tackles.
Women’s RLWC: Jillaroos fire, Kiwi Ferns get out of jail
Australia asserted its favouritism for a fourth straight women’s World Cup title with a clinical 40-0 rout of Samoa on Friday, featuring seven different tryscorers. Papua New Guinea crushed France 58-4 with winger Naomi Kelly crossing four times, while centre Connie Boyd and winger Anna Davies blazed in for hat-tricks in England’s 70-6 demolition of Wales.
New Zealand received a massive wake-up call from World Cup debutant Fiji in Newcastle on Sunday. Cross-code star Stacey Waaka scored two tries in the first half of her maiden Kiwi Ferns appearance, but the Bulikula took the fight right back to the heavyweights and held the lead — or a share of it — for a 44-minute stretch. Error-prone and ill-disciplined, the Kiwi Ferns managed to hold the gallant underdogs scoreless in the second half, nudging in front via a penalty goal with six minutes left then sealing an 18-12 result when halfback and captain Raecene McGregor popped a brilliant kick for winger Leianne Tufaga to dive over.
Warrior watch: Stacey Waaka had a team-high 149 metres on top of her first-half double, Mele Hufaga notched a try assist along with 124 metres, veteran fullback Apii Nicholls made a line-break and produced a try assist, and debutant back-rower Kaiyah Atai made eight runs and 21 tackles.
Week two schedule
Men’s RLWC
Friday — Tonga v Lebanon
Saturday — Papua New Guinea v Samoa, England v France
Sunday — New Zealand v Cook Islands, Australia v Fiji
Women’s RLWC
Friday — Samoa v Wales
Saturday — Papua New Guinea v Fiji, Australia v England
Sunday — New Zealand v France