Australia clinch thrilling World Cup opener against New Zealand

Australia secured a 24-22 victory over New Zealand in their Rugby League World Cup opener in Sydney. Debutant Jack Bostock scored a hat-trick to lead the hosts to a late win, including an interception try and two tries from winning aerial battles against Cameron Munster's kicks.

New Zealand held the advantage until the final five minutes of the match. Casey McLean scored an early try for the Kiwis, and Kalyn Ponga scored twice. Yahoo Sports reports that New Zealand was on top of the game until the closing stages, though Reece Walsh scored a long-range try for Australia to help set the stage for the comeback.

The match was attended by more than 40,000 fans, which Yahoo Sports noted was the largest Test match crowd in Sydney in 50 years. Australia's scoring included tries from Bostock, Trbojevic, and Walsh, with Walsh also kicking two goals. New Zealand's points came from tries by McLean and Ponga, with Isaako contributing three goals and two penalties.

Brief written by urgent.news from BBC Sport, Yahoo Sports — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.