Semi-Final Highlights: Australia v Fiji Rugby League World Cup

The 2017 Rugby League World Cup has

reached the semifinal stage and this

weekend, four teams compete for a

place in next week's final in

Brisbane. Here is what lies in

store. Australia were expecting to

face New Zealand earlier today, but

Fiji's unprecedented 4-2 victory

over the Kiwis in the quarterfinals

meant they progressed to set up a

repeat of the 2013 semifinal.

England defeated Papua New Guinea in

their quarterfinal, and tomorrow

faced Tonga in Auckland. Australia

have looked imperious so far,

racking up 27 tries and conceding

only two. But Fiji put up a historic

defensive performance last week

against New Zealand, so can they do

it again against the world

champions? Your commentators for

this one are Mark Braybrook and Gary

Belcher.

COMMENTATOR: 32nd teams make their

way out to the centre of the stadium

-- the two teams. A big night,

especially for the Fijians, and they

have plenty of support in the

stadium. One of the highlights has

been a cultural challenge of all

nations, but particularly the

Fijians.

# hallelujah.

They are lovely people, the Fijians,

and the passion with which they play

is reflected in the way they sing.

We have a player in the middle of

the ground getting some treatment

after that. It is an unchanged

line-up. A big night tonight for

Jarryd Hayne. Can Fiji, coached by

Mick Potter... Sorry, I have been

distracted. For the Australia side,

Mal Meninga is the coach. It is

Jarryd Hayne, but he was the last

one out on the field. He has been in

the hands of the trainer, but I

think he's OK. He has been getting

some treatment, Gary Belcher. That

is surprising.

Here is an important

player for Fiji. He has been

fantastic in this tournament. Didn't

get the jersey early, but he was

great once again last week.

Ashton

Sims, plays for the Brisbane

Broncos. The countdown is on.

Cameron Smith gets us under way. At

the end of 80 minutes, one of these

teams will be preparing for the

Rugby League World Cup final here on

Saturday week. The off-load from

Sims to start again, a bit of Fijian

flare from the kick-off. Is that

what we are going to see tonight

from Fiji, to play a bit of

different football and throw

something at the Australians?

It is

something we have not seen from many

teams. This fellow, Uate, has been

great.

Hayne gets knocked over by Klemmer

after he kicks it. Under pressure,

Slater.

Now, Valentine Holmes under

pressure. Some strong defence here

from the Fijians. And a bit of push

and shove. Ashton Sims was involved.

Slater over the top with a shoulder

charge. Ashton Sims has run from a

mile away. There were hymns before

the game, but there is no patience

shown here by the Fijians.

Was there

any arm in that tackle? It looked

like a shoulder charge.

A good kick from Jarryd Hayne 's. It

is a good chase from Fiji. Valentine

Holmes has lost the ball. Terrific

tackle.

They took the penalty goal early

last week, and it was the

difference. Will they do it again

this week?

A bit of a team meeting, but they

got there.

I don't think there was

any doubt that they were going to

take it, maybe they were just trying

to get into the Aussies' minds. But

there doesn't seem to be any doubt,

Gary, that the game plan from the

Fijians is to answer for the

Australians. There are the two

points. Fiji on the board first.

Campbell-Gillard is coming on. Aaron

Woods is straight up the tunnel.

They are playing with plenty of

vigour.

He didn't lose that, I reckon he

tried to pass it. Jarryd Hayne came

in as well.

Campbell-Gillard has played a test

for Fiji, up against his cousin.

Tulips with the ball. Why didn't he

go himself? It was a try format

julep, but he went to pass the ball

and it was an absolute shocker -- it

was a try format Gillett.

Good shots from Cordner. Nothing

illegal about it.

Inside the 40 can the Kangaroos.

Jarryd Hayne couldn't chase.

Montoya

under pressure.

Billy Slater does

wonderful work bringing the football

back. A few tackles later, Cooper

Cronk.

An update from Aaron Woods?

Good news on Aaron Woods. He will be

cleared to return.

You don't want to

get injured in the semifinal. Fiji

have taken forever here, and the

referee is making no effort to hurry

them up.

Campbell-Gillard turning his back

again, like Ashton Sims is doing on

the other side for Fiji. Here come

the Kangaroos, and Billy Slater

scores. Vunivalu, what was he doing?

He slipped over and then it was six

on one, and the Australians were

always going to score.

They have

come up ahead of the line, a couple

of defenders. He sneaks through that

tackle and off-load star Billy

Slater. Good try.

That is another

two points for Australia and another

goal for Cameron Smith.

Billy Slater

gets try number 15, so he is now the

leading try scorer in World Cup

history. And he is the best

full-back this game has ever had.

Certainly plenty of feeling and

physical stuff from the Fijians.

And another penalty that gets

Australia out of its own end easily.

There is Aaron Woods, back on the

bench. Good news for him and the

Kangaroos.

They really need to tidy

that area up, Fiji.

They are inside the 40 already.

Smith again creating danger. Morgan

with the damage. -- with the dummy.

Cooper Cronk takes the line on, but

they hold him a metre away from the

goal line. Vunivalu misses it, and

Valentine Holmes, who got fired last

week in Darwin, starts with a child

tonight. -- with H Common Travel

Area.

You just have to wait and see

if his opposite winger got hold of

it -- Valentine Holmes starts with a

try tonight.

He doesn't miss many, does he,

Cameron Smith? Straight as a gun

barrel.

I am a bit worried here with

how the Fijian side are defending.

It is two tries on the back of two

penalties, but when you watch how

much aggression on the defensive

line has, there is a lot of fear.

Cameron Smith is once again

dominating the game. Fiji have not

had the ball for a while. It is the

first time in some time that they

have been able to get their hands on

the football. You don't often see a

ball kicked in Vunivalu's direction

that he doesn't catch.

There is an injury.

Let's see how he

goes down.

That is not a good twist.

There is a resigned look on his

face.

McGuire's legs were chopped from

underneath him. Dugan back on the

angle. I think Josh Dugan has been

hurt. He fell awkwardly. Was it the

ankle? Yep.

Uate doesn't like the fact that he

was being held onto. The tackle

count hasn't been restarted doesn't

have to be, and there is Valentine

Holmes in again. Get himself a

double. Too many green and gold

jerseys, not enough Fijian

defenders, and the Kangaroos get the

third.

He couldn't dribble it

through, but taps it out wide.

Klemmer does the right thing.

Straight into the hands of Valentine

Holmes. He strolls over.

Fiji have

considered four penalties and

Australia have scored three tries.

Here is danger.

Dugan seems to have recovered.

Dugan almost burst out the other

side. Chambers gets inside Uate, and

Chambers scores the try. In fact,

the other wing I guess the try.

The

long ball from Cronk is a ripper

gives him a lot of room to move.

The difference between the

Australian side on the rest of the

World Cup squads is their class or

their ability to link passes at pace

and have the ball in front, which a

lot of the other sides get clunky in

their attack. But as the weeks have

gone by, Australia have got more

clinical and there will be extremely

hard to stop.

Fiji are on the

attack. Can Fiji scored just the

third try against the Kangaroos in

the whole World Cup? The first

coming after just five minutes of

game one. There is a penalty.

The Fiji chant goes up here at

Brisbane Stadium. Good, strong run

by Nakubuwai.

Milne tried to pass and loses it.

That was a poor set from Fiji.

They

had a couple of sets and six in that

20 metre zone and they haven't come

up with a good play on the end of

it. They haven't made the

Australians pay at all.

Cronk keeps it on the toe, a bounce

for Billy Slater. That went forward.

That is a knock-on.

REFEREE: just confirm that Billy

Slater gets a cut on that?

Video ref

to director, nice and slow for me,

mate. That looks like Slater's hand

inside. Would probably have to watch

that they do it faster, but Slater's

hand appears to be inside the Fijian

defender. That is definitely Billy

Slater's hand that touches the ball.

That makes it a knock-on.

Billy

Slater knew.

Fiji are now putting their foot

down. Nakubuwai is inside the 20.

Here is a chance for Fiji to start

the second half strongly. The

intercept from Valentine Holmes. He

was over the halfway line. Uate is

chasing, but Valentine Holmes, five

tries in Darwin and a hat-trick in

Brisbane! And he is not finished

yet, I don't think.

A missed placed

kick. A couple of tackles later,

they throw it wide. It was two on

one, but they found the one athlete

who was defending, Valentine Holmes,

and away he goes. Uate was just not

quick enough to prevent him from

scoring under the post.

The worst

possible start to the second half

for Fiji. Let's head downstairs to

Brett.

Well positioned here from Val

Holmes. He plays for Cronulla

Sharks. I think he is an outstanding

winger.

Vunivalu drops it, and Valentine

Holmes was there. That sort of sums

up the Fiji to a certain extent.

Koroisau and Hayne were getting in

each other's way.

They haven't

sorted their kicking game out. They

put OK kicks in in the first 15 or

20 minutes, but since then it has

been pretty sloppy.

We heard that

Aaron Woods was OK. He is on the

bench, but I would have thought he

might have come back by now.

The

Aussies have used three interchanges

in the first half.

Frizell with the tackle.

Aaron Woods went off some time ago.

Pales into insignificance now have

to Valentine Holmes' performances.

Great defence from Josh Dugan, just

forcing Vunivalu over the touchline.

I reckon Billy Slater was happy.

Putting the foot down, and Billy

Slater will race away and get the

Kangaroos' sixth try. From the scrum

win, Billy Slater did it all. At the

moment, they are unstoppable.

How

good is Billy Slater? 16 tries now,

two more than any player ever in

World Cup history, both of those

coming tonight. Slicing through the

outside defenders under away he

goes. No point in chasing, you are

not going to stop that man.

When we look at the class of Slater,

punk and Smith, they arrived in 2003

and it has been unbelievable to see

how their careers have developed.

Three April Fools' Day these three

players are once-in-a-lifetime

generation. -- these three are a

once-in-a-lifetime generation.

Keeping it alive, the Kangaroos.

Here comes Cooper Cronk. How is he

going to get out of there? There is

no way out. The chase was terrific.

They get everything right because

they work so hard on their game. A

perfectly weighted kick by Smith.

Cronk and his team-mates arrived,

and it was too late by then.

Campbell-Gillard, straight and hard.

Bodies fly everywhere.

And he gets

up and plays the footy.

It might be

34-2, but they are not being tested

much, the Kangaroos.

Morgan hasn't seen much of the footy

of late. Here they go, towards

Valentine Holmes, and don't tell me

he has got himself number four!

Views in again -- he is in again.

The clock keeps ticking. So does the

try scoring record. Five last week,

four this week, and who is to say he

can't get back to back five?

I was

going to say the try scoring will

continue to happen. It comes on the

back of the patients from the

Australian side. They are quite

happy to kick and build pressure.

And on the back of that fatigue, you

get the Fiji side making poor

defensive choices, and Australia

rack up the scoreboard.

Uate is

through. Can he beat Slater? He

does, but he slows him down. Where

is the support? Montoya arrives

late. Good run from Uate. And now

injured in the tackle.

That was a

determined effort. He was desperate

to get through, and does.

He is up

and OK. Here is a chance for Fiji.

Picked up by Vunivalu, not sure how

he did. Did he get it down?

OK, so you ask if Vunivalu maintains

possession cleanly?

The tackle isn't

complete at that point. Its

momentum, momentum. Maintains

possession, its momentum.

momentum, momentum. Maintains

possession, its momentum. Decision,

try.

A try to Fiji. The kangaroos

lead 42-6.

They got caught in the

wrong position there defensively.

It's the first try that Australia

have conceded in their second-half

in their last few matches. England

will be watching that they get ready

for a big occasion week.

The tackle with Sims. A penalty.

They will be attacking from inside

the 30, I think, the Kangaroos. Matt

Gillette is back on the field. That

is a good kick from Smith. Graham.

Where is Valentine Holmes? Can he

get five tries in consecutive weeks?

McGuire, woods, almost spinning

through the tackle. They go to the

side of Holmes. Holmes is out there.

Were he pass? He does and Valentines

Holmes gets five tries in a test

match two weeks in a row.

Unbelievable. We will never see this

again, surely? Dougan does his job

beautifully. Can't get there

himself.

Smith from near the

touchline. It's going to come back

and add another two points to

Cameron Smith's tally. It was

suggested and it had happened.

Five

to Valentine Holmes. It's certainly

been where to watch what has gone on

the last two weeks for Valentine

Holmes.

Let's see him get six,

Valentine Holmes. I don't mean that

disrespectfully to Fiji. But let's

witness something we may never see

again. We certainly won't see in a

test match, a player scored five

tries in consecutive test matches. I

don't think we'll ever see a player

score five tries in a test match

again. We'd never seen it before

last week.

Yes, the previous one was

Mel Malinga against the Roosters way

back when.

Is he OK? He is. Naiqama

loses it forward. Can he regather?

He does. He never looked like he was

quite under that football, Naiqama.

At the disappointing way for Fiji to

end the World Cup after such a

spirited performance throughout.

They just haven't been good enough

tonight. Smith at the base of the

scrum, Morgan, Slater, Gagai. He

goes himself. Did he get it down to

get himself a double? He did. The

kangaroos have got nine, Dan Gagai

has got to add on his outside,

Valentine Holmes has five still.

He

came from the other wing, Dane

Gagai, because most of the Aussie

action has been on the left tonight.

He just steps back inside Milne and

slices over.

Naiqama, Milne, away from Morgan.

Still going. Clement is there. The

off-load is a good one as well. And

here they go, Fiji. And they are

over. No, they lose the ball,

Vunivalu. He was over the line and

lost it. Now Gagai was almost away.

Vunivalu created something out of

nothing then dropped it. Here they

go towards Valentine Holmes. Away he

goes. He's going to get six. Naiqama

chasing and six of the best for

Valentine Holmes. I've seen it but

I'm not sure I believe it.

Try

confirming grounding, touchline.

OK,

so he is in at this point, he is

clear of the touchline, still clear,

going to ground. Maintains

possession. Decision going to the

board.

Six tries in one game of

rugby league and that game of rugby

league is a World Cup semifinal.

Balanced tine homes -- Valentine

Holmes. At one end of the field,

Vunivalu fails to hang onto it and

from that, we get this.

Look at him

go, a lot of work to do that with a

good chase by Naiqama. But he was

going to get there.

Six to Valentine

Holmes, two to Dan Gagai, to do

Billy Slater. Surely in the history

of rugby league when a team has

scored ten tries, they have never

been only three try scorers?

We have

to give a mention to the Kiwi great

Georgina guy who scored six in a

test.

And now here is Matt Gillett.

Looking for a try. Montoya slipped

over. Now through the hands of

Cronk, Smith, can we get that then?

The cake is on but it's too deep.

Through the hands and it might have

been seven.

He got the Man of the

Match for five tries last week. Was

he good enough with six to get it

tonight? There have been some

outstanding performances from the

Kangaroos.

Since, off-load.

15 short of halfway. Inside the

final minute of Vijay's time in the

2017 Rugby League World Cup. Short

of halfway. Hain. Can they finish

with something special? Something to

remember them by? They keep it

alive. The day. Uate puts the foot

down but he stumbled as he came to

Billy Slater and Slater made the

tackle. Pain, Sims, Milne. I don't

think he was expecting it. It's near

the touchline and it's in touch.

That would be just about it, you'd

think. Michael Potter gets up.

Neither side will be that keen to

pack the scrum. There is the Cyrene.

Australia is the root of the Rugby

League World Cup final with a

comprehensive 54-6 win over Fiji.

It

seems like the last two weeks, your

completion rate has improved and

you've got your grief.

Is that how

you feel? I think so. The first

three weeks -- matches, we had a

different line-up, different

positions, so it was always going to

be a bit clunky. But with the Arab

plan, that everyone got a run in the

first three matches, but we have

found continuity now and it seems to

be working for us. There were a

couple of patches in the match where

we lost our way a little bit but

overall I am really pleased with the

way we have responded with our

attack. Completion rates have been

great, some nice direct that bought

at the moment. We just need to

continue that.

We completed

something like 85% which is our best

completion rate so far this series

so I was very happy with that.

Obviously we are probably a little

fatigued tonight of the back of

Darwin, so that took its toll on the

players, I thought, from a 30 point

of view. That's just my observation

from the box. But a big week coming

up, we will make sure we freshen up

and get right for next week.

The

scoreline wasn't flattering. I

thought it got away from us really

early. We were a little

disappointing their early on. It

cost us field position and a lot of

points. You can't give Australia

points and the opposition early and

the game just -- field position

early and the game and away from us.

Australia made you work extremely

hard?

Definitely. They don't miss a

beat and control the game so well.

We tried to get them on a couple

about place but they were just too

good, too clinical and full credit

to them.

It was a great opportunity

for us to progress into the finals

but it's a tough assessment against

Australia. We have really enjoyed

this campaign, this opportunity to

play again. For Fiji rugby league,

it's great for us. We really felt

the support for our tiny nation and

we just want to thank all the fans

for their support during this

tournament.

Obviously it's an

unbelievable team I'm playing in,

probably the best team I've ever

played in, some great players in

their so great for myself with the

six tries. I'm enjoying the

tournament so far and very happy to

have made the final now. I want to

relax and soak it all up and look

forward to next week.

So, Australia advanced to next

week's final and they will face the

winner of tomorrow's second final

between -- second semifinal between

England and Tonga. Dave Woods has

the latest from the England camp.

It's a win for England. At this

stage of the tournament, it's not so

much about how you play but the

result at the end of it.

# It's not how you start

# It's how you finish...

You are

working on ball retention this week?

We work on that every week.

You are

a captain one week away from a

final. How do you cope with the

excitement?

We are excited but the

boys are training, in the hotel. We

are excited about what is the brunt

of us.

My excitement levels are on

the up, only a view days out of a

World Cup semifinal and the

opportunity to go to Brisbane and

play off for the trophy, so it's

very exciting.

There are a lot of

English fans in town, a lot of

Tongans. It will be a terrific

atmosphere?

Most of these guys play

in England so if they have been to

an English rugby league game,

English soccer, it's part of the

package on the day so I don't think

it will worry them.

It will be an

immense atmosphere but it will be a

great game to be within. Tonga have

got a lot of momentum at the moment,

so we know we have our hands full.

But it's something we are looking

forward to immensely.

Every game I

have been a part of, I stick with a

velocity that it takes 80 minutes,

sometimes 90 minutes to win a game

of rugby, so we have to be on every

play, every moment.

We are coming up

against some massive sites so this

is huge.

Where you are now, how does

that compare to the site you were at

the beginning of the tournament?

We

run the journey, last week execution

let us down a little bit but

generally we are doing things

better, much better.

And you can see

the England versus Tonga match live

tomorrow on BBC One from 4:30am.

Until then, goodbye.

And Valentine

Holmes starts with a try tonight!

# Stay out of my way

# Stay out of my way

# On Valentine's Day...

And six of

the best for Valentine Holmes.