Samoa beat France 78-4 in World Cup opener

Samoa opened its 2026 Rugby League World Cup campaign with a 78-4 victory over France at CommBank Stadium in Sydney on Friday, October 16, scoring 14 tries and establishing a substantial points-differential advantage in the pool-stage race for the semifinals. Sualauvi Faalogo scored four tries after entering the game as an early replacement for winger Deine Mariner, who left the field with an injury described in match reports as a hamstring issue. The sources did not provide a diagnosis or estimate of Mariner’s recovery time. Stephen Crichton kicked 11 goals, according to one match account, while France scored its only try through Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet. Samoa seized control early, building a 28-0 lead inside the opening 20 minutes. Mariner opened the scoring before his departure, and Benaiah Ioelu, Jermaine McEwen, Faalogo and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow also crossed as France struggled to contain the attack. Aispuro-Bichet briefly halted the run of tries, but Faalogo scored again before halftime to send Samoa into the break ahead 34-4. The Samoans continued to dominate after the restart. Crichton, Shawn Blore, Faalogo, Chanel Harris-Tavita, Izack Tago, Francis Molo and Ioelu added...