Australia beat New Zealand to win fourth straight Rugby League World Cup

Australia beat New Zealand 32-12 in the men’s Rugby League World Cup final on Sunday, securing a fourth consecutive title and prompting full-back Reece Walsh to hit back at those he said had written the team off.

“I feel we got disrespected,” Walsh said after Australia’s win, adding that he was proud of the side’s progress through the tournament. Australia have now won 10 of the past 11 men’s World Cups, dating back to 1975.

The champions had been questioned during the tournament after narrow wins over New Zealand and Fiji. New Zealand lost 24-22 in the opening match, while Fiji went down 36-22. Australia coach Kevin Walters’ team, however, produced what the BBC described as its strongest performance of the competition in the final.

Walsh also spoke about his return from an ankle injury after an eight-week lay-off. “I kept telling Kev [head coach Kevin Walters] it was sweet but I wasn’t sweet,” he said, describing the injury as painful in the opening match. He said he had been unfit and had not touched a ball during his recovery.

New Zealand coach Stacey Jones called the final his side’s “worst performance”, saying errors and poor discipline made it difficult to recover from a bad start.