Rugby League World Cup: New Zealand beat Fiji 78-0 and Australia beat Cook Islands 66-6; Fiji women reach semi-finals at first World Cup

New Zealand and Australia finished the men’s pool stage with big wins at the Rugby League World Cup on Saturday 31 October, and Fiji’s women reached the semi-finals, NRL.com and BBC Sport reported.

New Zealand 78-0 Fiji (men)

New Zealand scored 13 tries at Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast (kick-off 4:30am GMT) and led 48-0 at half-time. Casey McLean scored four tries, NRL.com said. New Zealand’s Ronaldo Mulitalo and Fiji’s Brandon Wakeham were both sent off in the 52nd minute. Fiji are out of the tournament.

Australia 66-6 Cook Islands (men)

Cook Islands led 6-4 through a Rua Ngatikaura try before Australia scored 12 tries in Townsville, in front of 19,172 people. Jack Bostock and Tom Trbojevic each scored a hat-trick, NRL.com reported. Australia top Pool A unbeaten and play the Pools B/C runner-up in Sydney on Sunday 8 November; New Zealand play the Pools B/C winner in Newcastle on Saturday 7 November. Watch Australia v Cook Islands highlights.

Women: Fiji 54-6 France, New Zealand 40-12 Papua New Guinea

Fiji beat France on the Gold Coast to reach the semi-finals at their first World Cup and will play Australia in Sydney on 8 November, NRL.com said. New Zealand led Papua New Guinea only 14-12 at half-time before winning 40-12 to top their group; they play Samoa in Newcastle on 7 November. Watch New Zealand v Papua New Guinea highlights.

Wheelchair

Australia beat New Zealand 102-14 and France beat Scotland 114-0 in Wollongong, NRL.com reported.

See also: RLWC round 3 Friday