David Williams scored three tries on debut as Australia thrashed Papua New Guinea 46-6 yesterday to finish off the group stage of the rugby league World Cup with another dominating win.
The Australians, who beat New Zealand 30-6 and England 52-4, were again a class above the opposition, advancing untroubled to a semi-final against either Ireland or Fiji.
The Kiwis, who rallied to beat England 36-24 with five unanswered tries on Saturday, will go into a rematch with the English in next weekend’s semi-finals with added confidence.
But Australia remain hot favorites to win the cup.
The Kangaroos led 22-0 at halftime after 22-year-old winger Williams and center Joel Monaghan each scored twice in the opening 40 minutes.
Replacement back Scott Prince crossed twice after the break, including one off an intercept, to give the hosts a 34-0 lead in the 55th minute, putting the match beyond doubt.
It was a vast improvement for the Kumuls, who lost by 82 points in their last World Cup match against Australia and were in the toughest group of the tournament.
Papua New Guinea center Menzie Yere swooped on a Rod Griffin grubber kick in the 73rd minute to score a consolation try.
In the earlier match, Samoa thrashed France 42-10 in the playoff for 9th and 10th places.
An “outstanding” 17-year-old Chinese badminton player died of cardiac arrest after collapsing on court during a tournament in Indonesia, officials said yesterday. Zhang Zhijie was playing a match late Sunday against Japan’s Kazuma Kawano at the Badminton Asia Junior Championships in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The score was 11-11 in the first game when Zhang fell to the floor between points. The teenager received treatment at the venue and was rushed to hospital in an ambulance, but passed away later that night after repeated efforts to resuscitate him failed. “Medical conclusions ... indicated that the victim experienced sudden cardiac arrest,” Broto Happy, spokesman for
Taiwan will have two pairs vying for the women’s doubles at the Olympic Games’ tennis event in Paris as Chan Hao-ching (詹皓晴) and her older sister Latisha Chan (詹詠然) officially clinched their third straight Olympic berth, the Chinese Taipei Tennis Association said Thursday. According to the association, the International Tennis Federation confirmed Wednesday evening the Chan sisters’ qualification for the event, meaning they will join the duo of Hsieh Su-wei (謝淑薇) and Tsao Chia-yi (曹家宜) to compete in the quadrennial sports jamboree. There are 16 entries in each doubles event. Hsieh, ranked No. 2 in the world on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA)
ONE GAME LEFT: ‘We 100 percent believe that this is the team,’ Kagiso Rabada said when asked if this team could end South Africa’s long World Cup drought A long, tortuous World Cup title drought is closer than ever to ending for South Africa after a nine-wicket win over first-time semi-finalist Afghanistan at the global T20 World Cup cricket tournament on Wednesday. Marco Jansen and Kagiso Rabada set the foundations for the lopsided victory with destructive opening bursts of pace bowling to have Afghanistan reeling at 20-4 in the fourth over, and eventually all out for a paltry 56. The South Africans lost just one wicket in pursuit of its first semi-final win at a global men’s limited-overs tournament, with Reeza Hendricks hitting a six and a four on consecutive
Taiwan is to have two pairs vying for the women’s doubles at the Olympic Games’ tennis event in Paris as Chan Hao-ching and her older sister Latisha Chan officially clinched their third straight Olympic berth, the national tennis association said on Thursday. The International Tennis Federation on Wednesday evening confirmed the Chan sisters’ qualification for the event, meaning they would join the duo of Hsieh Su-wei and Tsao Chia-yi to compete in the Olympics. There are 16 entries in each doubles event. Hsieh, ranked No. 2 in the world on the Women’s Tennis Association doubles rankings as of Monday, secured her slot earlier,