Walsh-inspired Australia crush irate Samoa to reach World Cup final

Reece Walsh scored a hat-trick to help Australia reach the Men's Rugby League World Cup final by overwhelming Samoa, a side that was left fuming by several refereeing calls, according to BBC Sport. The Kangaroos and Samoa met at Allianz Stadium, with the winner scheduled to face New Zealand in next Sunday's final, according to The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.

In the women's tournament, Australia secured a 30-14 victory over Fiji to reach their fifth successive Women's Rugby League World Cup final. Yahoo Sports reported that Abbi Church scored four tries to help Australia overcome an early period of pressure from World Cup debutants Fiji, who led at one point. This marked the first time since the 2013 World Cup final that the Jillaroos had not scored the opening points in an international.

Australia will face New Zealand in the final next Sunday in Brisbane. The Kiwi Ferns reached the decider after defeating Samoa 32-0 in Newcastle on Saturday, as reported by New Straits Times.

Brief written by urgent.news from BBC Sport, The Age, New Straits Times, The Sydney Morning Herald, Yahoo Sports — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.