Australia v Wales: Women’s Rugby League World Cup – live

Full-time: Australia 124-6 Wales

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 124-6 Wales (Chapman, 70)

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 118-6 Wales (Upton, 68)

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 112-6 Wales (Chapman, 64)

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 106-6 Wales (Nizza, 62)

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 100-6 Wales (Travis, 60)

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 100-0 Wales (Upton, 57)

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 94-0 Wales (Sergis, 56)

TRY! Australia 88-0 Wales (Church, 54)

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 84-0 Wales (Joseph, 50)

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 78-0 Wales (Chapman, 47)

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 72-0 Wales (Sergis, 44)

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 66-0 Wales (Joseph, 42)

Half-time: Australia 60-0 Wales

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 60-0 Wales (Paki, 32)

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 54-0 Wales (Sergis, 29)

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 48-0 Wales (Chapman, 26)

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 42-0 Wales (Apps, 23)

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 36-0 Wales (Sergis, 21)

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 30-0 Wales (Southwell, 19)

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 24-0 Wales (Church, 16)

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 18-0 Wales (Chapman, 10)

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 12-0 Wales (Chapman, 8)

CONVERTED TRY! Australia 6-0 Wales (Kernick, 6)

Thank you for joining me today. I’m off for a glass of something refreshing in the evening sunshine before returning to my TV screen for what should be the highlight of this entire World Cup festival: Tonga v Samoa in the final match of the men’s group phase.

I’ll leave you with Jack Snape’s thoughts from Commbank Stadium.

For context, the biggest winning margin in NRL history is 74 points (extended to NSWRL it’s 85). In Super League it’s 82. In NRLW it’s 58.

The Kangaroos’ biggest victory is 110-4 over Russia at the 2000 world cup, and the largest ever scoreline in international rugby before this was Denmark 122-8 Sweden in 2012.

Good luck Fiji next Sunday when they take on the Jillaroos for a place in the world cup final. The winners of that will face either New Zealand or Samoa in the decider.

But don’t forget Wales also became the first team to score against the Jillaroos at this world cup, despite the absolute shellacking.

A record equalling six tries for Jaime Chapman, a haul of four to Jessica Sergis, and 20 goals to the near-perfect Jesse Southwell.

A relentless, ruthless, merciless performance from the Jillaroos. They are an extraordinary bunch of record breakers.

Chapman streaks home for her sixth try of the afternoon and the Jillaroos complete the biggest ever win in the history of international rugby league – men’s or women’s.

Upton gets her second. The Jillaroos reach the highest total in women’s international rugby league history.

Five for Chapman! The Jillaroos do not know how to put the cue in the rack.

Wales’ celebrations are short-lived. Nizza sells an outrageous dummy and runs the 30m home unopposed.

Seven minutes remaining for Australia to score more than 16 points and take the all-time winning margin record from France.

The loudest cheer of the afternoon in Commbank Stadium is for a Wales try! Preston drops the ball on her right boot and weights it perfectly for Travis to steam through on the right edge and win the race for the touchdown. Preston goes back and dabs over the extras for good measure.

Delight for Wales – the first team to breach this Australian defence all world cup!

59 mins: And Wales almost make it pay! There’s room on the right but Gallagher jams in and takes player and ball to stymie the momentum. She knocked forward in the process though so the outsiders will get another shot.

58 mins: An Australian error! I see it but I don’t believe it! Kezie Apps knocks on and Wales will feed a scrum in Australia’s half.

It was a long time coming but Tamika Upton has finally come to the party. Remarkably, that is the superstar’s first world cup try. The Jillaroos bring up three figures and set a new women’s world cup record.

The Jillaroos are not taking their foot off the gas.

The host broadcaster is now paying more attention to the raucous crowd building outside for the upcoming Lebanon v France clash in the men’s competition as Church rounds off a crisp catch-and-pass drill from left to right.

Southwell finally misses, at the 14th attempt! It was a kick for goal from the touchline on the right, and it was online, but died just short of the crossbar.

53 mins: Wales have the ball! This is not a drill! Australia were forced to kick on the last and Heeley accepts the bomb. They don’t cross the 30m line in possession though.

Disciplined, efficient, and merciless. The Jillaroos are treating Wales as little more than training cones.

Wales withstand the initial raid but they still don’t get to use the ball as they knock on a bomb on the last tackle. Chapman forces her way over for a fourth try of the afternoon shortly after the resulting scrum.

Southwell’s 13 successful kicks is a new record, one of many being set today.

Two drives, two tries, this one straight from the restart. Southwell is now 12/12 from the tee.

One drive, one score. A new half, the same relentless Jillaroos.

41 mins: Wales accept the restart and get to enjoy at least one set in this second-half.

A reminder that the current Jillaroos record victory is 92-0 against France in 2022, while the women’s international record scoreline is France 116-0 Serbia from 2023.

Wales were afforded just 16 possessions all half, for a total of 103m. They were in control of the ball for just two minutes 29 seconds.

Every bit as emphatic as the scoreline suggests. The Jillaroos are on course to smash all sorts of records.

40 mins: Wales finally get their hands on the ball! But it’s only to concede a line dropout.

They can do it structured and they can do it in broken field. A conventional try seems in the offing down the left after good work from Nizza to set up Kelly, but the skipper comes inside and the ball gets recycled to the right where Paki straightens up and crashes over near the right corner.

Australia now have their highest ever first-half score.

They’re not overcomplicating things, the Jillaroos. They keep accepting the deep restart kicks, returning them hard up the guts for three or four tackles, then inviting the backs to strike – which Sergis does to outrageous effect, weaving her way along the right touchline and carving infield on a wicked individual run that ends underneath the crossbar.

Wales haven’t had possession in well over 10 minutes.

Chapman has a hat-trick! Whenever Australia get the ball they get a roll on. The forwards are eating up metres, especially after contact, the play-the-ball is quick, Aiken and Southwell are smart in the halves, and the outside strike is ruthless. This is brutal from the Jillaroos.

Wales haven’t seen the ball in ages, and they’re unlikely to see it again all afternoon at this rate. Kezie Apps is the latest to get in on the act.

Too strong, too quick, too skilful. This time the Australian forwards power down the middle of Commbank Stadium, Aiken spots the overlap on the right, jabs a lofted kick for Church and Sergis to compete for, and it’s the latter who marks, resists a tackle and touches down.

Southwell continues her flawless afternoon off the tee with her first challenging conversion attempt, just inside the right touchline.

Mullen irons out Church to gain a modicum of revenge for the previous play. It forces the Jillaroos to kick on the last, which Aiken does, and Wales fail to deal with the bomb on their own line. Southwell crumbs and dives over for yet another score.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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].