Australia booked their place in the final of the World Cup with a 64-0 win over Fiji, after a glorious afternoon of Rugby League at Wembley Stadium.
The tournament favourites scored six tries in a breath taking first half, and continued their dominance in the second. The Kangaroos will now face old rivals New Zealand in a repeat of the 2008 final at Old Trafford on Saturday November 30 (2:30pm).
It took just eight minutes for the Australians to get their noses in front. First they forced the Fijians back onto their line before Cameron Smith found Johnathan Thurston, who side stepped his marker to open the scoring. Thurston converted for a 6-0 lead.
Minutes later they went further ahead. Thriving at full-back in the absence of Billy Slater, Greg Inglis collected a loose ball on the edge of the Fijian defence and fed Darius Boyd who made no mistake from close range. This time Thurston was unable to convert from a tight angle.
Green shirts continued to pour forward and after 20 minutes they registered third try. Jarryd Hayne squeezed a pass out for Cooper Cronk to score with Thurston converting.
There was no stopping Australia and seconds later Hayne turned try scorer. A sweeping move ended with the centre who crashing over the line for his first of the match. Thurston converted to make it 22-0.
Determined to keep up the pressure, the Kangaroos powered forward again. Cronk received the ball under the posts and calmly off-loaded to Josh Papalii who dragged three Fijian tacklers across the line. Thurston was again on target with the conversion.
Unable to prevent the floods of green shirts breaking forward, Fiji found themselves even further behind in the dying seconds of the half. The irrepressible Hayne burst through the Fijian ranks to score and another Thurston conversion made it 34-0 at half-time.
A far more resilient Fijian side took the field after the break and fought tooth-and-nail to get a foothold in the game, but it was all to no avail. Cronk's delightful offload was taken by James Tamou who stretched out to add another touchdown with Thurston again on target.
Australia crossed a minute later when Boyd skipped past a challenge and cruised over for the his sides eighth try, Thurston making it 46-0 with the conversion.
The score was mounting and they went further ahead when Hayne completed his hat-trick thanks to a clever pass from Smith. Thurston landed another conversion with little over 10 minutes remaining.
Australia kept up the pressure as the game entered its final phase, Brett Morris surging down the wing to score, followed by another successful conversion from Thurston.
Andrew Fifita rounded things off when he collected another wonderful offload by Smith and scored underneath the posts. Thurston finished off a fine kicking display with his tenth conversion of the afternoon.
Australia Team
1 Greg Inglis
2 Brett Morris
3 Brent Tate
4 Jarryd Hayne
5 Darius Boyd
6 Johnathan Thurston
7 Cooper Cronk
8 Matthew Scott
9 Cameron Smith
10 James Tamou
11 Greg Bird
12 Sam Thaiday
13 Paul Gallen
Interchange
14 Daly Cherry-Evans
15 Josh Papalii
16 Andrew Fifita
17 Corey Parker
Fiji Team
1 Kevin Naiqama
2 Marika Koroibete
3 Sisa Ledua Waqa
4 Waisale Ligani Naiqama
5 Akuila Uate
6 Daryl Millard
7 Aaron Groom
8 Ashton Sims
9 James Storer
10 Petero Civoniceva
11 Tariq Sims
12 Jayson Bukuya
13 Eloni Vunakece
Interchange
14 Apisai Koroisau
15 Vitale Junior Roqica
16 Kane Evans
17 Semi Radradra Turagasoli Waqavatu
Referee: Richard Silverwood (England)
Australia 64
Tries: Thurston, Boyd 2, Cronk, Hayne 3, Papalii, Tamou, Morris Goals: Thurston 10
Fiji 0
Attendance: 67, 545
The tournament favourites scored six tries in a breath taking first half, and continued their dominance in the second. The Kangaroos will now face old rivals New Zealand in a repeat of the 2008 final at Old Trafford on Saturday November 30 (2:30pm).
It took just eight minutes for the Australians to get their noses in front. First they forced the Fijians back onto their line before Cameron Smith found Johnathan Thurston, who side stepped his marker to open the scoring. Thurston converted for a 6-0 lead.
Minutes later they went further ahead. Thriving at full-back in the absence of Billy Slater, Greg Inglis collected a loose ball on the edge of the Fijian defence and fed Darius Boyd who made no mistake from close range. This time Thurston was unable to convert from a tight angle.
Green shirts continued to pour forward and after 20 minutes they registered third try. Jarryd Hayne squeezed a pass out for Cooper Cronk to score with Thurston converting.
There was no stopping Australia and seconds later Hayne turned try scorer. A sweeping move ended with the centre who crashing over the line for his first of the match. Thurston converted to make it 22-0.
Determined to keep up the pressure, the Kangaroos powered forward again. Cronk received the ball under the posts and calmly off-loaded to Josh Papalii who dragged three Fijian tacklers across the line. Thurston was again on target with the conversion.
Unable to prevent the floods of green shirts breaking forward, Fiji found themselves even further behind in the dying seconds of the half. The irrepressible Hayne burst through the Fijian ranks to score and another Thurston conversion made it 34-0 at half-time.
A far more resilient Fijian side took the field after the break and fought tooth-and-nail to get a foothold in the game, but it was all to no avail. Cronk's delightful offload was taken by James Tamou who stretched out to add another touchdown with Thurston again on target.
Australia crossed a minute later when Boyd skipped past a challenge and cruised over for the his sides eighth try, Thurston making it 46-0 with the conversion.
The score was mounting and they went further ahead when Hayne completed his hat-trick thanks to a clever pass from Smith. Thurston landed another conversion with little over 10 minutes remaining.
Australia kept up the pressure as the game entered its final phase, Brett Morris surging down the wing to score, followed by another successful conversion from Thurston.
Andrew Fifita rounded things off when he collected another wonderful offload by Smith and scored underneath the posts. Thurston finished off a fine kicking display with his tenth conversion of the afternoon.
Australia Team
1 Greg Inglis
2 Brett Morris
3 Brent Tate
4 Jarryd Hayne
5 Darius Boyd
6 Johnathan Thurston
7 Cooper Cronk
8 Matthew Scott
9 Cameron Smith
10 James Tamou
11 Greg Bird
12 Sam Thaiday
13 Paul Gallen
Interchange
14 Daly Cherry-Evans
15 Josh Papalii
16 Andrew Fifita
17 Corey Parker
Fiji Team
1 Kevin Naiqama
2 Marika Koroibete
3 Sisa Ledua Waqa
4 Waisale Ligani Naiqama
5 Akuila Uate
6 Daryl Millard
7 Aaron Groom
8 Ashton Sims
9 James Storer
10 Petero Civoniceva
11 Tariq Sims
12 Jayson Bukuya
13 Eloni Vunakece
Interchange
14 Apisai Koroisau
15 Vitale Junior Roqica
16 Kane Evans
17 Semi Radradra Turagasoli Waqavatu
Referee: Richard Silverwood (England)
Australia 64
Tries: Thurston, Boyd 2, Cronk, Hayne 3, Papalii, Tamou, Morris Goals: Thurston 10
Fiji 0
Attendance: 67, 545
