Australia rout Wales 124-6 in Sydney as World Cup record set
Australia beat Wales 124-6 in Sydney during the Rugby League World Cup, which runs from 15 October to 15 November, producing the biggest international score in the sport's history.
The Jillaroos ran in 21 tries and led 60-0 at half-time — the largest half-time score in any World Cup match, men's or women's — before finishing 124-6. Jaime Chapman scored a first-half hat-trick and finished with six tries, her sixth coming in the final minute. Tries: Kernick, Chapman 6, Church 2, Southwell, Sergis 4, Apps, Paki, Joseph 2, Upton 2, Nizza Goals: Southwell 20.
The 118-point margin is the biggest ever in a women's international match, and Australia surpassed their previous World Cup high of 92-0 from 2022; France men still hold the overall record with a 120-0 win over Serbia in 2003. The result also moved Australia past the Denmark men's 122-8 scoreline against Sweden in 2012, as noted in the original reporting.
Wales celebrated a late score at 100-0 when Paige Travis crossed, becoming the first side to score against the Jillaroos in this tournament. Wales were making their first World Cup appearance and had played only 16 fixtures in total, their first Test taking place in 2021.
Tom Brindle's Wales had already suffered heavy defeats in the competition, losing 70-6 to England and 76-0 to Samoa, and the gap in experience was evident against an Australian side described in the match report as full of NRLW talent. Australia opened the scoring in the sixth minute through Olivia Kernick following an offload from Makenzie Weale and quickly extended the lead with tries from Chapman and Abbi Church.
Jesse Southwell scored after Wales failed to claim a high ball, and Jessica Sergis, Kezie Apps and Chapman added further tries to complete Chapman’s first-half treble. Sergis brought up the half-century before Sariah Paki crossed, with Australia recording 84% possession in the first half, completing 21 of 22 sets and holding almost 13 minutes of possession compared to Wales' two minutes 29 seconds.
Just over a minute after the restart Keilee Joseph scored and the onslaught continued with further tries from Sergis, Chapman, Joseph and Church. Southwell’s conversion of Sergis' fourth try saw Australia surpass their previous World Cup scoring mark, and Tamika Upton’s breakaway plus extras took the score to triple figures; Keeley Nizza, Chapman (twice more) and Upton completed the scoring sequence later in the match.
Wales captain Bethan Dainton, who was the tournament's top tackler in the first two rounds with 77, said: "We just wanted to create a legacy back home for young girls coming through, and I think we did that. The scorelines haven't been in our favour but no one gave up and I am so proud of the girls."
The Jillaroos remain the three-time, back-to-back champions and are hunting a fourth successive title in the tournament that runs from 15 October to 15 November.