Australia beat England 78-0 in Perth at Women's Rugby League World Cup

England were defeated 78-0 by Australia in Perth on Saturday in the Women's Rugby League World Cup, suffering a heavy loss in front of a warm evening crowd.

The match came after England had reshaped their squad following a 90-4 defeat in Las Vegas in March 2025; the new-look side had recorded a 70-6 win over Wales in their opening World Cup match seven days earlier but were unable to match Australia in Perth.

England's problems began early, with two major errors from kick-offs and an escalating penalty count that compounded their difficulties and allowed Australia to build the 78-0 margin that the NRLW described as an "annihilation" on X.

Head coach Stuart Barrow addressed the changes made since Las Vegas, saying: "We had to change after Vegas. We might as well bring it up," Barrow said "We made a lot of changes to bring a young group in and this young group is going to keep developing and that's a good learning curve for them. "We can't start a game against the world champions like that, with two errors from two kick-off sets. It takes all the words and enthusiasm you've had in the dressing room straight out of you. "It's really disappointing when you see a score like that. You can't be happy with it, in any way, shape or form but it felt different."

Barrow referenced the DiSE programme, which started in 2019, as part of his selection strategy and named a 17-player squad that included 11 players aged 23 or under, among them the all-Wigan half-back pairing of Isabel Rowe and Jenna Foubister, both 19.

In contrast, Jess Skinner's Australia had only two players below the age of 25 in their 17 and an average age of almost 28; England fielded only three NRLW players and selected a squad largely made up of players who have full-time occupations outside the sport. "When they get on a roll like that I don't think any team in the world can compete with them," Barrow added. "They are just too quick, too skilful and too fast for our girls at that stage. "They don't face that week in, week out. So when it comes at them quickly, it can be a shock to the system but they will learn from it. I thought they competed and tried in the second half but we never had the ball."

Barrow said the selection was intended to develop younger players for the longer term, adding: "We are here to compete, but with a group like this we are hopefully bleeding them in for the 2030 World Cup," Barrow added. "There are a lot of 19, 20 and 21-year-olds in our group, who are going to gain a load of experience from this. "Our aim is to give them every experience we can to make them better for the future."