IRL Men's Rugby League World Cup : Pool B & C

Fri 16th October 2026   - KO  17:45 - CommBank Stadium, Sydney
Official: Ashley Klein (Australia)

Samoa

78

FT

4

Half Time
34 - 4

France

Tries

Deine MARINER (3)
Benaiah IOELU (5,80)
Jermaine MCEWEN (8)
Sua FAALOGO (13,37,63,67)
Hamiso TABUAI-FIDOW (18)
Stephen CRICHTON (42)
Shawn BLORE (56)
Chanel HARRIS-TAVITA (70)
Izack TAGO (74)
Francis MOLO (78)

Guillermo AISPURO-BICHET (24)

Goals

Stephen CRICHTON (11/11)

Match Preview | Samoa and France meet in opening group game of Men's World Cup

Samoa begin their 2026 Rugby League Worls Cup campaign on Friday night, 16th October, as they take on France at the CommBank Stadium in Sydney (5:45pm KO local time).

After riding a rollercoaster of emotions in 2026, Jarome Luai will co-captain Samoa along with Junior Paulo as they open their campaign against France at CommBank Stadium on Friday night.

Paulo and Luai are among six survivors from the Samoa side that lost the 2021 World Cup Final to the Kangaroos along with Brian To'o, Stephen Crichton, Spencer Leniu and Chanel Harris-Tavita.

Newcastle Knights edge forwards Jermaine McEwen and Francis Manuleleua will cap off their stunning 2026 season by making their Samoa debuts.

Ben Garcia lines up at his fourth World Cup as he skippers a France outfit that includes Souths flyer Latrell Siegwalt in the centres and Hull KR's Arthur Morgue at fullback.

Half back Cesar Rouge scored 20 points in France's World Cup qualifying win over Wales in Perpignan in 2024 thanks to two tries and six goals.

Samoa (squad): Izack TAGO, Chanel HARRIS-TAVITA, Francis MOLO, Benaiah IOELU, Jermaine MCEWEN, Francis MANULELEUA, Jazz TEVAGA, Shawn BLORE, Sua FAALOGO, Ata MARIOTA, Clayton FAULALO, Ronald VOLKMAN, Enari TUALA, Hamiso TABUAI-FIDOW, Brian TO'O, Stephen CRICHTON, Jarome LUAI, Junior PAULO, Connelly LEMUELU, Deine MARINER, Spencer LENIU

France (squad): Arthur  MOURGUE, Benjamin LAGUERRE, Latrell SIEGWALT, Guillermo AISPURO-BICHET, Leo DARRELATOUR, Cesar ROUGE, Romain NAVARRETE, Benjamin GARCIA, Mathieu JUSSAUME, Julian BOUSQUET, Tiaki CHAN, Mathieu COZZA, Louis GROSSEMY, Joe DRODROLAGI, Romeo TROPIS, Fouad YAHA, Theo FAGES, Lambert BELMAS, Amir BOUROUH, Thomas LACANS, Arthur ROMANO, Jordan DEZARIA

13 October 2026
1 Hamiso TABUAI-FIDOW
Full Back
Arthur  MOURGUE 1
2 Brian TO'O
Right Wing
Benjamin LAGUERRE 2
3 Izack TAGO
Right Centre
Latrell SIEGWALT 3
4 Stephen CRICHTON
Left Centre
Guillermo AISPURO-BICHET 4
5 Deine MARINER
Left Wing
Leo DARRELATOUR 5
6 Chanel HARRIS-TAVITA
Stand Off
Cesar ROUGE 6
7 Jarome LUAI
Scrum Half
Theo FAGES 7
8 Francis MOLO
Prop
Romain NAVARRETE 8
9 Benaiah IOELU
Hooker
Benjamin GARCIA 9
10 Junior PAULO
Prop
Lambert BELMAS 10
11 Connelly LEMUELU
Second Row
Arthur ROMANO 11
12 Jermaine MCEWEN
Second Row
Mathieu JUSSAUME 12
13 Francis MANULELEUA
Loose Forward
Mathieu COZZA 13
14 Jazz TEVAGA
Int 1
Amir BOUROUH 14
15 Spencer LENIU
Int 2
Tiaki CHAN 15
16 Shawn BLORE
Int 3
Jordan DEZARIA 16
17 Sua FAALOGO
Int 4
Louis GROSSEMY 17
18 Ata MARIOTA
Int 5
Thomas LACANS 18
19 Clayton FAULALO
Int 6
Joe DRODROLAGI 19

A four-try haul from Sua Fa'alogo helped Samoa to a record 78-4 victory over France to open their World Cup account in style at CommBank Stadium on Friday.

The Melbourne fullback made a big impact off the bench after replacing an injured Deine Mariner early in the match, running for 237 metres to go with his four tries. 

After disappointing results in their 2026 campaigns, star duo Jarome Luai and Stephen Crichton also enjoyed a night out for Samoa, with Luai delivering four line break and two try assists and Crichton kicking 10 from 13 conversions.

Knights edge forwards Jermaine McEwen and Francis Manuleleua were monuments in their Test debuts, with McEwen topping the tackle count for Samoa and Manuleleua racking up 223 run metres, 89 of which were post contact.

After a strong, physical start Samoa struck first in the third minute after some slick hands to the left and Mariner went over untouched in the corner.

There were some worrying signs for France early with five-eighth Cesar Rouge and winger Leo Darrelatour both leaving the field for head injury assessments and Samoa running in another two tries through Benaiah Ioelu and Test debutant Jermaine McEwen to lead 18-0 eight minutes into the match.

Mariner left the field with a hamstring injury in the 10th minute but it did not hinder the strike attack on the left edge with replacement winger Fa'alogo crossing in the corner and setting up Hamiso ​Tabuai-Fidow on the inside to give Samoa a 28-0 advantage.

France hit back in the 25th minute when skipper Benjamin Garcia looked to the short side and a remarkable catch and put down from Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet delivered his side their opening tournament try.

The French wrestled their way back into the contest but couldn't capitalise on their opportunities and Samoa went further ahead with Luai throwing a cut out pass for an unmarked Fa'alogo who crossed in the corner to take his side to the sheds with a 34-4 lead.

Samoa pick up where they left off after the break when Brian To'o laid a huge shot to force an error out of Arthur Mourgue and Crichton picked up the loose ball and raced his way over the line. Chrichton converted his own try from the sideline to stretch the lead 40-4.

Samoa continued to dominate across the park and after France turned them away for several sets, Shawn Blore crashed over for the side's eighth try off a simple catch and pass play.

Fa'alogo continued his superb night out, crossing the line twice in four minutes to notch four tries for the match and crack a 50-point lead for Samoa.

Luai's footwork continued to haunt the French late in the match and some slick hands on the inside from Ioelu set up Chanel Harris-Tavita to crash over from close range.

On the back of some big metres of Francis Manuleleua, Fa'alogo looked to make it five for the night but the try was denied with the bunker ruling obstruction in the lead up.

16 October 2026