Australia have booked their place in the 2026 Rugby League World Cup final where they will face New Zealand.

The Kangaroos were heavy favourites for their semi-final against Samoa, a repeat of the 2022 final, and despite going behind to an early penalty, Australia ran out as comfortable 44-12 winners.

A Stephen Crichton penalty after four minutes marked the high water point for Samoa who quickly went behind after a Crichton knock-on gave Australia a scrum in good ball, from which Tom Dearden blitzed past Super League’s Jazz Tevaga to give the hosts the lead.

From there, Australia didn’t look back as Jacob Preston and Tom Trbojevic scored to make it 16-2 inside 25 minutes. Samoa thought they pulled one back but Crichton’s try was controversially disallowed and making matters worse, Australia immediately punished them through a Reece Walsh try before Bradman Best made it 26-2 by the half.

Samoa hit back first through Crichton after a Reece Walsh mistake but the Aussie full-back remains resilient and scored two more either side of an Izack Tago try, before Jack Bostock scored late on to rubber-stamp a 44-12 win.

Talking points as Australia reach the Rugby League World Cup final

Internationals over Origin

State of Origin has ascended to a status down under where it’s seen as the pinnacle of the sport but games like this, and the pre-match events, are a firm reminder that nothing can beat international rugby league when it’s done right.

Mate versus mate and state versus state is often the tag-line for Origin but the passion of representing your own nation is a step above and the pre-match war dances in both men’s semi-finals have highlighted that, especially today’s Siva Tau.

Samoa’s version of the Haka, the Toa Samoa marched towards the Kangaroos and ended up head to head as they performed the Siva Tau with the atmosphere simply electric in the Allianz Stadium after its conclusion.

Forget the debate about the format of this tournament, the resounding message from this World Cup should be that the sport needs more internationals because when evenly-matched nations face off, there’s nothing better in the sport.

Huge turning point

Trailing 16-2 approaching the half hour mark, Samoa thought they had got themselves back into the contest when Reece Walsh spilled a contested kick and Stephen Crichton capitalised to score under the sticks.

An easy conversion would have followed and Samoa would be trailing by only eight and have the momentum heading into the final quarter of the first half, however, the dreaded video review process began.

After clearing Stephen Crichton as onside from the kick chase, the analysis went onto the challenge for the ball between Reece Walsh and Samoa’s Francis Manuleleua with the video referee somehow judging Manuleleua had knocked on into Walsh, a decision that NRL-winning coach Trent Robinson firmly disagreed with.

“The left hand of Walsh is behind his hand. It couldn’t have gone forward, that was going back. I really believe that should have been a try,” Robinson argued, with Australia punishing that tough call as Reece Walsh scored a try just two minutes earlier – marking a 10-point swing that killed the game.

Jekyll and Hyde Walsh

Reece Walsh showcased what a superstar he was in game one of last year’s Ashes series as he destroyed England before having a relatively quiet time in Tests one and two.

This game was an example of him showing all his talents but also his weaknesses, with Walsh regularly exposed defensively – particularly under the high ball  – but his resilience saw him score a hat-trick as well.

He was fortunate that the referee called a knock-on against Samoa for their disallowed try but he didn’t get lucky twice with his knock-on for Stephen Crichton’s try a bad one. On both occasions though, Walsh crossed over for a try of his own within minutes. Whether he is afforded the chance to make those mistakes next week in the final is another question, with Kevin Walters surely considering the more defensively sound James Tedesco, despite Walsh’s attacking fireworks.

Huge final awaits

Incredibly, Sunday’s final will be the first men’s final contested between Australia and New Zealand since 2013 – a game that Australia dominated.

The Kangaroos won 34-2 that day at Old Trafford with Johnathan Thurston picking up the man of the match medal but there’s no suggestion Australia will be as dominant this time next week.

They might have beaten New Zealand in the competition’s opener but the Kiwis were the better side for the majority of that game, with two of Australia’s tries coming from long-range intercepts.

New Zealand are looking to reclaim the title for the first time since 2008 whilst Australia are looking for a fourth straight World Cup win. Whilst Tonga and Samoa have scintillated at this tournament, this is the final most expected and it’s one that could be an epic.

A date with New Zealand booked next SUNDAY 🤝

#RLWC26 https://t.co/8Bc6zJK3Tt

— Rugby League World Cup 2026 (@rugbyleaguewcup) November 8, 2026

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