Jack Bostock Scored a Hat-Trick on Debut and Australia Beat New Zealand 24-22
Australia were behind 6-0, then 16-10, then 22-16 in the opening match of the Rugby League World Cup at Allianz Stadium on Thursday night. They won with four minutes left, when Jack Bostock out-jumped Jamayne Isaako for a Cameron Munster kick and scored his third try in his first Test.
The crowd was 41,255, which BBC Sport called the biggest for a Test in Sydney in 50 years. They saw New Zealand play better for most of the night and lose.
How the points went
| Minute | Score | After it |
|---|---|---|
| 4′ | Casey McLean try, Jamayne Isaako goal | New Zealand 6-0 |
| 20′ | Jack Bostock try, 88-metre interception | New Zealand 6-4 |
| 26′ | Isaako penalty goal | New Zealand 8-4 |
| 31′ | Tom Trbojevic try, 85-metre interception, Reece Walsh goal | Australia 10-8 |
| Before half-time | Isaako penalty goal, Kotoni Staggs sin-binned | 10-10 at half-time |
| Early second half | Kalyn Ponga try, Isaako goal | New Zealand 16-10 |
| 57′ | Bostock try, Walsh goal | 16-16 |
| 60′ | Ponga try, Isaako goal | New Zealand 22-16 |
| 68′ | Walsh try | New Zealand 22-20 |
| 76′ | Bostock try | Australia 24-22 |
Two intercepts kept Australia in it
New Zealand had the ball and the territory in the first half. The Guardian’s numbers had them averaging 49 metres a set to Australia’s 37, and Australia made 195 tackles to New Zealand’s 129. When Trbojevic scored, only 18 per cent of the match had been played in New Zealand’s half.
That try, and Bostock’s first, both came from passes that went to the wrong team. Bostock picked off a Jahrome Hughes pass and ran 88 metres. Eleven minutes later Trbojevic took a Casey McLean pass and ran 85. Australia had 41 per cent of the ball in the first half-hour and led.
Kotoni Staggs was sin-binned just before the break for dragging back Kodi Nikorima as he chased a Hughes grubber. Isaako kicked the penalty, and it was 10-10.
Ponga against Walsh
The second half belonged to the two fullbacks. Kalyn Ponga scored while Staggs was still off, then beat Munster and stepped Walsh for his second. Walsh had already saved a try with a cover tackle on Ponga before half-time, and eight minutes after Ponga’s second he took an offload from Bostock and ran 80 metres to make it 22-20.
Walsh finished with 206 run metres and nine tackle breaks in his first match since August, when he hurt his ankle. Ponga had 253 metres and two tries, and played the last 20 minutes of his time on the field with what is now a suspected broken arm. He was off by the time Bostock scored the winner.
Who Jack Bostock is
Bostock plays for the Dolphins and was one of six possible debutants in Kevin Walters’ 23. He tore his ACL fifteen months ago and started this season on the sidelines. He was called into the New South Wales side for this year’s Origin decider.
On Thursday he ran 231 metres and was named player of the match. He is the first Kangaroo to score three tries on debut since Campbell Graham against Scotland at the last World Cup. His second and third tries came the same way, a leap for a high Munster kick, and New Zealand will have noted that.
What it cost, and what is next
Mitchell Moses went off early in the second half with a calf injury and was replaced by Tom Dearden. He is waiting on scans.
It was Australia’s 19th win in a row at World Cups. They play Fiji at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday 25 October, and New Zealand go home to Christchurch to face the Cook Islands the same day. Australia lead Pool A on two points; New Zealand have none but a points difference of only minus two. Every result goes into the World Cup table the morning after.
