Women's Rugby League World Cup - Australia 78-0 England: Poor English suffer humilation

Australia take control early

England were not expected to beat Australia, the reigning champions and co-hosts. The Jillaroos have lost only one international since 2016. Jaime Chapman opened the scoring after Australia countered from a kick-off. England briefly thought they had scored, but Anna Davies was ruled to have stepped into touch.

Kelleher leads the attack

Tamika Upton broke two tackles before setting up Kelleher, who crossed for a try. Kelleher went on to score 26 points, with precise kicking and well-timed passing helping Australia create further chances.

Julia Robinson, Abbi Church, Tarryn Aitken and Makenzie Weale also scored as Australia built a commanding lead. Robinson later broke her wrist while being pinned by a team-mate.

England face Samoa next

Australia continued to attack after the break, and Shaylee Bent finished the scoring. England’s defence struggled to stop the hosts’ players breaking through tackles. England were also without Jasmin Strange, who suffered a serious knee injury in training on Tuesday and watched from the sideline on crutches. Their qualification is expected to come down to a match against Samoa next Friday.