Australia escape New Zealand 24-22 in Rugby League World Cup opener at Allianz Stadium
Australia edged New Zealand 24-22 in the opening match of the Rugby League World Cup at Allianz Stadium on Thursday night, in a Trans-Tasman contest that combined high drama on the field with a spectacle off it. Kalyn Ponga produced a standout attacking display for New Zealand despite the loss.
Organisers introduced new eligibility rules and a revamped tournament format for this edition, reducing the competing nations from 16 to 10 and cutting the number of matches from 31 to 18. Allianz Stadium was sold out with a crowd of more than 40,000 and the pre-match presentation included fireworks, lasers and large-scale projections. The tournament was relocated from France’s planned 2025 staging after the source reports Les Bleus "couldn't sniff a profit," with Australia stepping in as hosts.
New Zealand began strongly, Casey McLean scoring an early try described in the match coverage as one of the all-time great Cup tries, and Kalyn Ponga finished with two tries while repeatedly threatening the Australian defence. Ponga’s performance was curtailed by a broken arm sustained late in the game that the report says will rule him out of the tournament; a last-gasp tackle also denied him what would have been a third try.
Kevin Walters’ selection decision to give Reece Walsh the No 1 jersey ahead of James Tedesco was highlighted in the match narrative; Walsh prevented Ponga’s near-try in the 36th minute and later crossed himself in the second half after receiving a short pass from Jack Bostock. Jack Bostock, a Test debutant, scored three tries in the match and Tom Trbojevic produced a 90-metre effort as part of Australia’s scoring sequence.
The Kangaroos relied on two runaway first-half tries — one to Bostock and another to Trbojevic — to remain in contention before the close of the contest, with the coverage describing the finish as a narrow escape for Australia. The report criticises the broader spine combinations for Australia, noting inconsistent ball from Harry Grant and Mitchell Moses and limited impact from Latrell Mitchell compared with Dane Gagai for New Zealand.
The piece outlines the wider impact of the eligibility changes, noting that until this year players who had represented Tier 1 nations could not play for other countries. It cites Dane Gagai’s switch after seven Tests for the Kangaroos in 2017-18 due to his Māori mother, Tania, and records that Ponga had been a junior Kangaroo in 2019 and qualified for New Zealand through his Māori father, Andre.
The World Cup schedule listed other early fixtures and storylines: a Trent Robinson-directed France take on Samoa, the 2022 runners-up whose 2025 Test with Tonga drew 40,000 fans; England v Tonga on Saturday; and Tonga, coached by Kristian Woolf, whose two matches against Australia in the 2024 Pacific Championships attracted crowds of 33,000 and 28,000 and are cited in the coverage as possible disruptors to the tournament hierarchy.
Australia’s next match is confirmed as a group game against Fiji on Sunday week, a fixture the report identifies as requiring selection decisions from Walters after the opener’s narrow result.