Kiwis Thrash Fiji 78-0 to Reach Rugby League World Cup Semi-Finals

New Zealand are through to the Rugby League World Cup semi-finals after a 78-0 win over Fiji on Saturday 31 October. The quarter-final was played at Cbus Super Stadium on Australia's Gold Coast, and the result was settled long before the final whistle.

New Zealand were ahead almost at once. They scored four converted tries in the opening 13 minutes to lead 24-0. A try is worth four points in league, and a conversion, a kick at goal taken after a try, adds two more. NRL reported the match under the headline "Kiwis run riot as two sent off on Gold Coast".

Casey McLean scored four tries and Keano Kini two. Jahrome Hughes, Dane Gagai, James Fisher-Harris, Ronaldo Mulitalo, Xavier Willison, Briton Nikora and Erin Clark also crossed the line. Fiji conceded eight tries in the first half and five in the second.

The match was not without damage. Fiji's captain, Apisai Koroisau, suspected a broken jaw after his head clashed with Joseph Tapine's in the eighth minute. Semi Valemei also left the field in the first half with a head injury. Head knocks are taken seriously in the game, and both players will be monitored closely as their teams plan ahead.

Discipline also took centre stage. Fiji half-back Brandon Wakeham and New Zealand winger Ronaldo Mulitalo were both sent off, meaning they were removed from the field for the rest of the match, in the second half. Mulitalo could now face a ban that would rule him out of the rest of the tournament, after a high shot on Ronald Philitoga. A high shot is a tackle or contact aimed above the shoulders. That ban has not yet been decided, so it is a possibility rather than a certainty.

For New Zealand, the win follows a difficult start. They lost their opening match to Australia, and Reuters reported their 82-16 win over the Cook Islands in Christchurch as their response. Full-back Kalyn Ponga broke his arm in that opener against Australia on 15 October. Head coach Stacey Jones has said Ponga trained this week and could be involved in the semi-final against Samoa, Tonga or England.

Australia have also kept their perfect start. They beat the Cook Islands 66-6 in Townsville to stay unbeaten at 100%. Jack Bostock and Tom Trbojevic each scored three tries in that win.

The New Zealand women's team also had a busy weekend. They beat Papua New Guinea 40-12 as a warm-up for their World Cup semi-final against Samoa.

The tournament also includes a wheelchair competition, and it produced its own big scores. Australia beat New Zealand 102-14 in Wollongong. Australia's captain, Bayley McKenna, scored 44 points, with four tries and 14 goals from 15 kicks. France opened their Pool B campaign with a 114-0 win over Scotland.

For New Zealand, the next task is a semi-final, with Ponga's fitness and Mulitalo's disciplinary outcome likely to shape their preparation.