Samoa Rout France 78-4 to Set a Rugby League World Cup Record

Samoa opened their Rugby League World Cup campaign with a 78-4 win over France at CommBank Stadium in Parramatta, Sydney on Friday, Oct 16, 2026. The score set two team records at a World Cup: the most points Samoa has scored in a tournament match, and their biggest winning margin. The old mark was the 62-4 win over France at the previous World Cup in 2022.

Five tries in the first 18 minutes

Deine Mariner crossed in the third minute for the first try. Benaiah Ioelu and debutant Jermaine McEwen followed, and Samoa led 18-0 after eight minutes. France lost five-eighth Cesar Rouge and winger Leo Darrelatour to head injury assessments in the same rough start.

Mariner left the field in the 10th minute with a hamstring injury. His replacement, Sua Fa'alogo, scored in the corner and then set up Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow as Samoa pushed the lead to 28-0.

France scored their only try in the 25th minute. Captain Benjamin Garcia worked the short side and Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet caught and grounded the ball in the corner. Fa'alogo answered before the break with his second try, and Samoa went to halftime ahead 34-4.

Fa'alogo finishes with four

Samoa kept scoring after the break. Brian To'o forced an error from Arthur Mourgue with a heavy tackle, and Stephen Crichton picked up the loose ball and scored. Shawn Blore added the eighth try. Fa'alogo then scored twice in four minutes to reach four tries for the night. A fifth try was ruled out when the bunker found an obstruction in the lead-up.

Fa'alogo ran for 252 metres in 70 minutes off the bench, according to the NRL match report. Crichton kicked 10 goals from 13 attempts. McEwen topped the tackle count for Samoa on his Test debut, and fellow debutant Francis Manuleleua ran for 223 metres.

Chanel Harris-Tavita scored late, and Samoa added three tries in the final eight minutes through Izack Tago, Francis Molo and Ioelu. The last try came after the final siren, when a Crichton penalty goal attempt hit the post and bounced into the hands of Ioelu, who scored. Crichton converted from in front to close the scoring at 78-4.

What comes next

The result puts Samoa on top of their pool after one round. They play Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby on Oct 24, 2026, then face Tonga at CommBank Stadium on Nov 1, 2026. France play England in Perth, also on Oct 24, 2026, and need a win there to keep their campaign on track after a heavy opening loss.