Here’s what you might have missed overnight at the 2021 Rugby League World Cup in England.
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The main takeaways
- Samoa have booked their place in their first ever World Cup final after downing host nation England 27-26 in a thrilling Golden Point contest.
- Stephen Crichton was the man of the moment for Samoa, kicking the match-winning field goal after scoring a double in the second half which included what looked to be the match-winning intercept try — only for George Williams and Herbie Farnworth to produce a length-of-the-field effort to level the match.
- Junior Paulo faces a nervous wait from the match review committee after he was sent to the sin bin and put on report for a lifting tackle on Thomas Burgess.
Star performers
Jarome Luai was named the official man of the match after he produced a number of classy attacking touches throughout the second half, while Stephen Crichton also came up with some big plays late on. Tim Lafai scored tries in each half, and had a huge try-saving play on his opposite number Kallum Watkins. Former Raiders halfback George Williams was again superb for England, while Herbie Farnworth scored a great individual try of his own before backing up to score his second of Williams' break in the 79th minute of the match.
What the result means
Samoa are through to the World Cup Final and will face tournament favourites Australia at 3.00am AEDT on Sunday, November 20 at Old Trafford in Manchester.
Recap
- Match report: Crichton kicks Samoa into World Cup final
- Key injuries: Fa'amanu Brown (head knock), Oregon Kaufusi (head knock)
- On report: Junior Paulo (lifting tackle)