Fiji light up World Cup despite defeat as heavyweights march on

MELBOURNE, Oct 26 - Fiji breathed life into a Rugby League World Cup blighted by lopsided contests by going toe to toe with Australia on Sunday, though the defending champions survived to book their place in the semi-finals.

In a tournament rapidly turning into a procession for the established powers, Fiji threatened one of the great World Cup upsets in front of 41,000 fans at Brisbane's Lang Park after leading 16-12 early in the second half.

That was before Kangaroos captain James Tedesco turned the tide and Tom "Turbo" Trbojevic completed a hat-trick as the favourites emerged with a 36-22 victory.

Fiji winger Semi Valemei also crossed three times while playmaker Kurt Donoghoe was named player of the match after repeatedly exposing the Kangaroos' defence.

Defeat notwithstanding, Fiji's performance was a major confidence boost before they meet New Zealand on the Gold Coast on Saturday with a semi-final berth on the line.

"It was just outstanding tonight," said Fiji coach Mick Potter.

"They showed courage, they showed they can play footy.

"Even with the short turnaround, we'll be ready for (New Zealand)."

New Zealand bounced back from their opening loss against Australia with an 82-16 demolition of Cook Islands in Christchurch, where Jamayne Isaako scored three tries in a record 38-point haul, the biggest by a Kiwi in a test.

Unheralded Cook Islands back Esom Ioka improved his chances of earning a National Rugby League (NRL) contract with a hat-trick, including two long-range efforts from intercepts.

ENGLAND REBOUND

England also ran riot, thrashing France 82-0 in Perth to revive their semi-final hopes after an opening defeat by Tonga.

Herbie Farnworth and Dom Young scored hat-tricks as England piled on 14 tries.

"I'm really pleased with how we responded to the (Tonga) result, really," England coach Brian McDermott said.

"The scoreline (30-12) wasn't good last week but I thought we played really well."

England must now beat Papua New Guinea convincingly on Friday and will cheer for a Tonga win by a healthy margin over Samoa to remain in the hunt for the semis.

Samoa, runners-up in England four years ago, underlined their quality by crushing Papua New Guinea 64-6 in Port Moresby, with prop Spencer Leniu igniting a devastating second-half onslaught three weeks after a match-turning performance off the bench for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL Grand Final.

The hosts' heavy loss underlined a need for more investment at international level despite a sell-out crowd at the National Football Stadium and the coming entry of the PNG Chiefs into the NRL.

Chiefs' marquee recruit Jarome Luai was given a hero's welcome by local fans despite captaining Samoa to victory, leaving the field in his underwear after throwing every item of his playing kit into the crowd.

Tonga notched up another big win as they shut out Michael Cheika-coached Lebanon 36-0, setting up the Pacific showdown with unbeaten Samoa in Sydney on Sunday.

Cheika said Lebanon's second defeat was an improvement on their 42-18 loss to PNG but underscored the massive gap between the game's top nations and the rest.

"We tried to get a warmup match but we weren't allowed," he said of the only Asian nation represented at the 10-team tournament.

"It's not easy for us. We haven't played a game since the World Cup of last time." REUTERS