Freedom Crichton Ropati Scored a Hat-Trick as Samoa Beat England 24-6 to Reach Their First World Cup Semi-Final
Samoa are in the semi-finals of the Women’s Rugby League World Cup for the first time. They beat England 24-6 at WIN Stadium in Wollongong on Friday, and Freedom Crichton Ropati scored all three of their first-half tries.
England are out. They finish third in their group on two points, and it was captain Jodie Cunningham’s last match.
Three tries in 21 minutes
Crichton Ropati scored in the ninth minute, from an Ivana Lolesio cut-out pass, in the right-hand corner. She was over again in the 18th after work from Pauline Piliae-Rasabale and Tyra Ekepati, and completed her hat-trick in the 30th minute when Ekepati found her on the same edge, nrl.com reported.
Samoa had 61 per cent of the ball and led 12-0 at half-time. Piliae-Rasabale missed all four conversion attempts from out wide.
| Team | Tries | Goals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samoa: Freedom Crichton Ropati 3, Mercedez Taulelei-Siala, Fanua Rimoni | 5 | 2 | 24 |
| England: Evie Cousins | 1 | 1 | 6 |
England’s chance came and went
Mercedez Taulelei-Siala scored early in the second half. Evie Cousins, who had a hard first half under the high ball, scored on the left edge to give England hope.
Georgia Roche then kicked a 40-20 in the 47th minute, and England dropped the ball. Three minutes later Piliae-Rasabale took a penalty goal from in front to make it 18-6. With eight minutes left Crichton Ropati dropped a bomb, but Fran Goldthorp’s final pass to Anna Davies went forward. Captain Evania Isa’ako then put Fanua Rimoni through to score under the posts.
Samoa’s first World Cup since 2008
This is Samoa’s first Women’s World Cup since 2008. Frank Pritchard’s side play the Kiwi Ferns at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle on 7 November. Centre Monica Tagoai had 182 run metres and nine tackle breaks, and fullback Destiny Mino-Sinapati ran 191 metres.
How England went out
England opened with a 70-6 win over Wales, then lost 78-0 to Australia in Perth, Sky Sports noted. Stuart Barrow’s side needed to win on Friday to reach a third straight semi-final.
Cunningham played 38 Tests and four World Cups for England. It was not the finish she wanted, nrl.com said. A few hours later the England men beat Papua New Guinea, but only by 22, which leaves their own tournament hanging on Sunday’s Tonga v Samoa game.
