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Key events
CONVERTED TRY! Australia 24-0 Wales (Church, 16)
A Southwell grubber forces a line dropout, which is sent deep towards Church, who builds up a head of steam, breaks through the double tackle of Lewis and Cussons, spins away from a third effort and careens behind the defensive line and under the crossbar. That was seriously impressive.
14 mins: Wales resist a full set inside their red zone, aided by some Australian indecision behind the ruck and a couple of excellent tackles by Mullen.
12 mins: A fourth try in a row – and a quick-fire hat-trick to Chapman – seems inevitable but Preston gets fingertips to an attempted intercept and the ball goes out of play.
CONVERTED TRY! Australia 18-0 Wales (Chapman, 10)
That’s three tries from the last three drives for the Jillaroos. This attack was a little disjointed until Southwell floated a beautiful long cutout pass to Chapman, and from 40m out the flying winger does the rest.
Southwell kicks her third simple conversion of the afternoon.
CONVERTED TRY! Australia 12-0 Wales (Chapman, 8)
Now that was all a bit too easy. Catch and pass from right to left on their own 40m line from the Jillaroos, creating a glimmer of space for Chapman to dash into, and the winger seizes the opportunity, going through the gears to saunter in for another try.
7 mins: A little harsh on Wales, who have started well, but the speed of the play-the-ball and the timing of Weale’s burst ripped them open.
CONVERTED TRY! Australia 6-0 Wales (Kernick, 6)
Wales complete another set without drama, again inviting Australia to come at them from deep. Chapman does just that down the left wing, setting up front foot ball. Weale then busts the line with serious force, fending off Burnell with one hand, offloading to Kernick with the other, and the back rower jogs under the posts for the opening score.
4 mins: Excellent from Wales, executing a solid set then testing Upton with a well placed bomb. The chase is fast and the Jillaroos are forced to counter from near their own line. That soon becomes much closer to halfway after Sergis taps and goes following a ruck penalty, but just as momentum starts to build the pass to Upton is behind the fullback and she knocks on trying to keep the move alive.
2 mins: Risk free opening set from the Jillaroos, running one-out for 60m allowing Southwell to launch a bomb that Burnell deals with superbly coming forward from fullback. Australia are then too eager with their first defensive set, committing a ruck penalty to gift Wales an easy exit out of their red zone.
Kick-off!
The final match of the pool phase is under way in Sydney…
And the two teams are out in the glorious spring sunshine. Smiles all round as Australia prepare to fill their boots and Wales soak up the occasion.
The Jillaroos are wearing gold jerseys this afternoon, with green chevrons and shorts. Wales are in red with white and dark green accents.
This afternoon’s referee is the pioneering Kasey Badger.
This is the final match in the group phase of the women’s world cup and the semi-finals are already locked in.
New Zealand v Samoa (6pm Saturday, Newcastle)
Australia v Fiji (6pm Sunday, Sydney)
We are firmly on course for a fifth consecutive Australia v NZ world cup final.
This is the first of a world cup triple-header in Parramatta. After this France and Lebanon wrap up their campaigns in the men’s draw, followed by the fixture that could define the tournament: Tonga v Samoa.
Conditions are beautiful in western Sydney this afternoon. The temperature is around 26C, it’s mostly sunny, and there’s a gentle easterly breeze.
Team News:
Jillaroos: Plenty of changes for the hosts, including an almost entirely new pack, as Jess Skinner spreads the load ahead of the knockout phase. Jessica Sergis, Jesse Southwell, Ellie Johnston, Quincy Dodd, Makenzie Weale, Kezie Apps, and Sariah Paki all come into the run-on side.
Raiders fullback Sheridan Gallagher is also in line to make her Test debut off the bench after a transformational few days. She was only flown into camp on Tuesday to replace the injured Julia Robinson, and then made the interchange late on with Tiana Penitani Gray resting a sore foot.
Wales: Two changes to the starting XIII that was put to the sword by Samoa. Dual-code international Ffion Lewis replaces Amberley Ruck at five-eighth, and Carys Marsh comes in at dummy-half after Jasmine Gibbons failed an HIA in last week’s defeat.
Australia’s squad will be familiar with at least two Welsh players, namely Townsville-born North Queensland Cowboys winger Sian Williams, and inaugural Bulldogs co-captain, halfback Tayla Preston.
Wales XIII
1. Leanne Burnell, 2. Zoe Heeley, 3. Jade Mullen, 4. Hannah Bluck, 5. Siân Williams, 6. Ffion Lewis, 7. Tayla Preston, 8. Agnes Wood, 9. Carys Marsh, 10. Emily Hughes, 11. Georgia Cussons, 12. Paige Travis, 13. Bethan Dainton (capt).
Interchange: 14. Kathryn Salter, 15. Erin Williams, 16. Gracie Hobbs, 17. Lucia Davies.
Replacement: 18. Dani McGifford
Australia XIII
1. Tamika Upton, 2. Jaime Chapman, 3. Jessica Sergis, 4. Isabelle Kelly (c), 5. Abbi Church, 6. Jesse Southwell, 7. Tarryn Aiken, 8. Ellie Johnston, 9. Quincy Dodd, 10. Makenzie Weale, 11. Kezie Apps, 12. Sariah Paki, 13. Olivia Kernick.
Interchange: 14. Keeley Nizza, 15. Keilee Joseph, 16. Sarah Togatuki, 22. Sheridan Gallagher.
Replacement: 19. Olivia Higgins
Preamble
Jonathan Howcroft
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of Australia v Wales in the 2026 women’s Rugby League World Cup. Kick-off at Commbank Stadium in Sydney is from 3.40pm local time (4.40am GMT).
Pairings in international sport are rarely this one-sided. The Jillaroos are the three-time defending world cup champions, number one ranked team in the world, and they have suffered only one defeat since 2016.
Wales meanwhile only played their first official Test five years ago, and this is just their 16th fixture.
In the tournament so far Australia have yet to concede even a single point, Wales have scored only six. England dismantled Wales 70-6 in round one, then themselves were taken apart by Australia 78-0 in round two.
The Jillaroos’ record victory of 92-0 against France in 2022 is under serious threat. The women’s international record scoreline of France 116-0 Serbia from 2023 could also be given a run for its money.
I’ll be back with final team lists and more shortly. Please send me your emails and keep me company throughout the afternoon. The address is [email protected].
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