England women out of Rugby League World Cup after 24-6 loss to Samoa as Crichton Ropati scores first-half hat-trick
Samoa beat England 24-6 in Wollongong to reach the semi-finals and end England's run of last-four finishes. Freedom Crichton Ropati scored a hat-trick.
At a glance
- Samoa beat England 24-6 in Wollongong on Friday to finish in the top two of Group A and reach the semi-finals.
- Freedom Crichton Ropati scored a first-half hat-trick and was player of the match.
- England go out in the group stage after a run of semi-final finishes at recent World Cups.
- It was captain Jodie Cunningham's final England match; coach Stuart Barrow's young squad now looks to 2030.
Samoa knocked England out of the Women's Rugby League World Cup with a 24-6 win in Wollongong on Friday, a result that sends the Pacific side into the semi-finals. Winger Freedom Crichton Ropati scored a hat-trick before half-time. England, who needed a win to finish in the top two of Group A, go home after the group stage, having made a habit of reaching the last four.
It was also the last England match for captain Jodie Cunningham.
Three tries in the right corner in 20 minutes
Crichton Ropati, the Parramatta Eels winger, gave Samoa the lead in the ninth minute with a diving finish, after Destin Mino-Sinapati had just failed to ground the ball in the same corner. She went over again on 19 minutes, when a sweeping move and a Tyra Ekepati offload found her in space, and completed the hat-trick on 29.
Pauline Piliae-Rasabale missed all three touchline conversions, so the lead was only 12-0 at the break. It could have been more, and England made almost no inroads in the opening 35 minutes.
| Moment | Score | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| 9 min | 4-0 | Crichton Ropati dives over in the corner |
| 19 min | 8-0 | Crichton Ropati finishes a sweeping move |
| 29 min | 12-0 | Crichton Ropati completes her hat-trick |
| Early 2nd half | 16-0 | Mercedez Taulelei-Siala scores on the left |
| Shortly after | 16-6 | Evie Cousins scores; Isabel Rowe converts |
| Second half | 18-6 | Piliae-Rasabale kicks a penalty for two |
| Late | 24-6 | Samoa's fifth try, converted |
England's one chance, and the pass that went forward
England came back into the game after Mercedez Taulelei-Siala had stretched the lead to 16-0. Evie Cousins, who had been in tears late in the first half after dropping a routine high ball, rolled through a tackle in the left corner after a line break from Hollie-Mae Dodd. Isabel Rowe's conversion made it a 10-point game.
The chance to make it a one-score game then came and went. Fran Goldthorp had two players spare and the line open, but her pass drifted forward. England then failed to find touch from a penalty, and Samoa went up the other end for the try that ended it.
Where this leaves both teams
Samoa move on to the semi-finals. England finish third in Group A on two points, after thrashing Wales 70-6 in their opener and suffering a 15-try defeat to Australia on Saturday. Wales also go out.
| Group A | England's record |
|---|---|
| vs Wales | Won 70-6 |
| vs Australia | Lost, conceding 15 tries |
| vs Samoa | Lost 24-6 |
Coach Stuart Barrow chose a squad with 11 players aged 23 or under, with a clear eye on the next World Cup in 2030, although the host for that tournament has not been confirmed. That plan now gets its test, starting with how quickly this group can close the gap to Australia and the Pacific nations. For Samoa, the next match is a World Cup semi-final.
