Samoa Beat Papua New Guinea 64-6 as Leniu Turns World Cup Match in Port Moresby

Samoa beat Papua New Guinea 64-6 at Santos National Football Stadium in Port Moresby on Saturday, October 24, 2026, in a Men's Rugby League World Cup pool match. The result keeps Samoa unbeaten after two matches at the tournament. It also sets up a meeting with Tonga next Sunday that will send one of the two Pacific teams a long way towards the semi-finals.

The finish was one-sided. The start was not. Samoa scored first, in the opening minute, when Francis Manuleleua latched on to a short kick-off and raced 40 metres downfield before Sua Fa'alogo crossed out wide a couple of plays later. Papua New Guinea answered through halfback Bailey Biondi-Odo and led 6-4, and the sold-out home crowd had a real upset to hope for. The hosts went close again soon after, when a Dudley Dotoi break put Robert Derby in sight of the in-goal, but Derby could not take the grubber kick.

Leniu changes the match

The match turned when Spencer Leniu came off the bench midway through the first half. The prop scored a try, nearly had a second, and ran for 166 metres with 10 tackle breaks in a 38-minute effort that Papua New Guinea could not contain. By the time Leniu left the field midway through the second half, Samoa had turned a two-point deficit into a 28-6 lead.

Manuleleua was close to the same standard. He nearly scored from the opening play of the match, finished with 210 running metres, and scored a try of his own as Samoa took control in the middle of the field. Once Samoa won that battle, their backs had the space to play, and the tries followed in quick order.

Fifty unanswered points

Samoa scored 50 unanswered points in the second half. Fa'alogo finished with two tries and two try assists, in a strong follow-up to the four tries he scored off the bench against France last week. Brian To'o batted a kick back for Stephen Crichton to score, then ducked under the defence to score a second-half try himself. A kick from Jarome Luai set up the second try for Fa'alogo. From the moment Leniu took hold of the match, Samoa added try after try and closed out the 64-6 win with seven more tries after he had built the lead.

What the result means

Samoa have now scored 142 points in two World Cup matches, after the 78-4 win over France and this 64-6 win in Port Moresby. Their points difference stands at +132, the mark England are chasing after their own 82-0 win over France later on Saturday.

Papua New Guinea were outclassed in the second half but are not out of the tournament. The Kumuls can still reach the knockout phase with a win over England next week in Wollongong, if other results go their way. Samoa have a bigger match to prepare for. They face Tonga at CommBank Stadium on Sunday, November 1, 2026, in a sold-out match between two unbeaten teams, with a semi-final place on the line.