Fetu Sāmoa push world champions all the way

Fetu Sāmoa have served notice to the women's Rugby League World Cup with a courageous, bone-crunching display against defending champions Australia.

The visitors held the heavily favoured Jillaroos scoreless for large stretches of a physical 40-0 opener at CommBank Stadium in Western Sydney on Friday night.

While the scoreboard ultimately reflected Australia’s class, Frank Pritchard's side won the hearts of the passionate blue crowd in Parramatta with an aggressive opening 10 minutes and a relentless, body-on-the-line defensive effort in the second half.

The Sāmoans came out firing from the opening whistle, forcing early errors and pinning the Aussies inside their own half.

But a ruthless 24-minute burst from the reigning champions saw Australia run in five first-half tries to build a 28-0 lead at the break.

Instead of folding, Fetu Sāmoa lifted their intensity after the restart, repeatedly turning the Jillaroos away on their own goal line with desperate defence.

Watch Fetu Sāmoa run on to CommBank Stadium to face the Australian Jillaroos below.

The moment of the night came late in the match when winger Freedom Crichton-Ropati, niece of Toa Sāmoa superstar Brian To’o, lifted the crowd to its feet with a bone-rattling hit on Australian centre Tiana Penitani-Gray.

"In our family, hit-ups and big tackles are just second nature," Crichton-Ropati said with a smile on Seven. "When you wear the Sāmoa colours, you don't think twice about putting your body on the line.

"Hearing the crowd roar after that hit was special, but more importantly, it showed that we were still in the fight till the end."

Watch Freedom Crichton-Ropati and her uncle Toa Sāmoa star Brian To'o below.

Pritchard praised the squad's heart and defensive resolve after holding the world champions to just two tries in the second half. "I couldn't be prouder of the fight in this group," he told media post-match.

"We knew the Jillaroos were going to come at us with everything, but the way our girls stood up in that second half and defended our line showed what repping this jersey means to us.

"This is just step one for us. The belief in this camp is strong, and we're only going to build from here," Pritchard said.

Leading the forward pack from the front, veteran co-captain Annetta Nu'uausala highlighted the electric energy from the blue-and-white crowd at CommBank Stadium as the catalyst for Sāmoa's fierce resistance.

"To hear the crowd chanting and singing for us when our backs were against the wall gave us a massive second wind.

"We wanted to come out and lay a physical marker against the best team in the world. We took some hard lessons from that first half, but we showed everyone that Fetu Sāmoa won't back down from anyone," Nu'uausala told the post-match interview.

Watch Fetu Sāmoa lay down the challenge to the Australian Jillaroos in their RLWC opener.

The hosts eventually breached the blue wall when Jessica Sergis crossed late but the Australian camp acknowledged the brutal physical price paid for the victory.

Speaking post-match on Seven, Australian star forward Olivia Kernick said the Sāmoan forward pack made them earn every metre.

"It was a very tough battle … Samoa gave it to us for the whole 70 minutes," Kernick said.

Australian captain Isabelle Kelly also paid tribute to Sāmoa's defensive resilience after her side was forced into several handling errors under heavy pressure.

"It was a bit scrappy for us in bits there," Kelly told Seven.

Despite losing key back-rower Sarina Masaga temporarily to a heavy tackle, Fetu Sāmoa continued to match the Jillaroos' physical intensity until the final siren, establishing a powerful platform for the remainder of their group stage campaign.

Photo/NRL/file

Fetu Sāmoa will look to bounce back when they take on the Fiji Bulikula on Saturday, 1 November at CommBank Stadium in Parramatta, Sydney, in their crucial second group match of the Rugby League World Cup. Kickoff is at 3.50pm NZ time.

For more action and updates on the 2026 Rugby League World Cup, visit www.rlwc2026.com

TEAMS

Fetu Sāmoa: 1. Evania Pelite, 2. Freedom Crichton Ropati, 3. Lindsay Tui, 4. Annetta Nu'uausala (co-c), 5. Jessica Patea, 6. Pauline Piliae-Rasabale, 7. Destiny Brill, 8. Fiona Jardine, 9. Destiny Mino-Sinapati, 10. Janelle Williams, 11. Sarina Masaga, 12. Christian Pio, 13. Sienna Lofipo. Interchange: 14. Tavarna Papalii, 15. Malaela Su'a, 16. Pahi Ladbrook, 17. Jetaya Faifua. Reserves: 18. Monalisa Soliola, 19. Tiana Raftstrand-Smith.

Australia Jillaroos: 1. Tamika Upton, 2. Julia Robinson, 3. Tiana Penitani-Gray, 4. Isabelle Kelly (c), 5. Jakiya Chapman, 6. Kirra Dibb, 7. Jesse Southwell, 8. Shannon Mato, 9. Keeley Davis, 10. Millie Boyle, 11. Kezie Apps (c), 12. Olivia Kernick, 13. Simaima Taufa. Interchange: 14. Quincy Dodd, 15. Keilee Joseph, 16. Shaylee Bent, 17. Jessika Sergis. Reserves: 18. Lauren Brown, 19. Yasmin Clydsdale.