Jillaroos Run In 21 Tries as Australia Thrash Wales 124-6
Australia's women's rugby league team, the Jillaroos, beat Wales 124-6 on Sunday in Sydney, scoring 21 tries in a Women's Rugby League World Cup match. The win sends Australia into the semi-finals.
Rugby league is played by two teams of 13. A try, worth four points, is scored by grounding the ball over the opponent's try line. A conversion, a kick at goal taken after a try, adds two more.
The contest was over long before the final whistle. Australia led 60-0 at half-time, and Wales were still searching for their first points when they went into the break.
Jaime Chapman was the star of the afternoon. She scored six tries, and her sixth came in the last minute. Jesse Southwell kicked 20 goals for Australia, adding a steady stream of extra points to the tries.
Wales did get on the scoreboard. Paige Travis scored with her side trailing 100-0, making Wales the first team to score against Australia at this tournament. Wales managed only one try in the match.
The numbers are striking. According to BBC Sport, Australia's 124 points is the highest score in international rugby league history, passing Denmark men's 122-8 win over Sweden in 2012. The 118-point winning margin is the biggest in any women's rugby league match. Australia's previous best at a World Cup was a 92-0 win over France in 2022.
Wales were taking part in the Women's Rugby League World Cup for the first time. Their first full international came in 2021, so this tournament is a steep introduction to the top level of the sport. Travis's try gave their supporters something to cheer in a game that was otherwise one-way.
The match was the third round of group action at the tournament. Sunday's result means Australia now move on to the semi-finals, where they will face the winners of the other competitive matches still to come.
Sitting alongside the scoreline is the sheer workload of the day. Australia kept attacking through the whole match, and the Wales defence was forced to make tackle after tackle. In rugby league, a team has six tackles to move the ball forward before it must hand over possession. Wales spent much of the afternoon chasing the ball, and the Jillaroos kept finding space.
For the official Rugby League World Cup website, the story of the day was Chapman's six tries. For anyone new to the women's game, this match is a clear marker of how far Australia have pulled ahead, and how much Wales have to build.
