Australia edge New Zealand in epic World Cup opener — SkimNews
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- Australia edged New Zealand 24-22 in the 2026 Rugby League World Cup opener in Sydney, with more than 40,000 fans making it the biggest Test match crowd in the city for 50 years.
- Jack Bostock marked his Kangaroos debut with a hat-trick, including the decisive try inside the final five minutes and two scores won by beating New Zealand defenders to Cameron Munster's spiralling kicks.
- New Zealand led at 6-0, 16-10 and 22-16 and dominated the forward battle — only 18% of one stretch was played in Kiwi territory — but could not close out the defending champions.
- Kalyn Ponga scored two tries for New Zealand but left with a suspected broken arm and had his left arm in a sling at full-time, an angle Sky Sports broke out into its own dedicated injury story.
- Reece Walsh was named player of the match after a long-range try, a try-saving tackle on Ponga and visible physical toll — the source notes he vomited during the game — in a performance the article frames as decisive.
- The 2026 Rugby League World Cup final is set for 15 November; Australia are defending champions chasing a record-extending 13th title, with the piece flagging a likely Australia–New Zealand rematch in the decider.
Why it matters: Australia's title defence opens with a statement of resilience, recovering from 22-16 down with five minutes left after being outplayed territorially. Bostock's debut hat-trick and Ponga's suspected broken arm both create immediate selection headaches: a Queensland Origin dilemma between Walsh and Ponga, plus Kiwi depth concerns if their star fullback misses the rest of the tournament.
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