Australia Win Fourth Straight Men’s World Cup

Fastest Try In A World Cup Final Starts The Rout

The final was tilted inside two minutes. New Zealand’s Jamayne Isaako sent the opening kick-off sailing over the dead-ball line on the full, handing Australia a penalty on halfway, and the Kangaroos made the Kiwis pay at once. The NRL’s official match report records that hooker Harry Grant faked left and went right from dummy half, sending Liam Martin crashing over the top of Kodi Nikorima for the opening try. Timed at 84 seconds, it stands as the fastest try ever scored in a Rugby League World Cup final, breaking a record that had survived only a couple of hours: Jillaroos winger Jaime Chapman had set it at 125 seconds in the women’s final earlier the same day.

New Zealand refused to fold after the worst possible start. Casey McLean, one of the Kiwis’ shining lights all tournament, crossed in the 12th minute for his ninth try of the World Cup after lead-up work from Isaiah Papali’i and Nikorima, and Isaako’s conversion levelled the scores at 6-6. The kick carried its own piece of history, taking Isaako to 227 career Test points and past Shaun Johnson’s mark of 225 as New Zealand’s all-time leading point scorer. A chance to lead followed soon after, but Jeremy Marshall-King’s forward pass with the line beckoning let Australia off, and the Kangaroos never looked back.

Bostock And Best Blow The Final Open Before Half-Time

Jack Bostock restored the lead on 20 minutes, collecting his eighth try of the tournament from a Bradman Best tap-on after Reece Walsh had torn at the Kiwi edge. Cameron Munster added a penalty goal when Ronaldo Mulitalo was penalised for an escort on Tom Trbojevic, and Best then produced the half’s defining sequence: first running down Jahrome Hughes from behind to slap the ball loose as the Kiwi half threatened to break away, then scoring himself in the next set, slicing off his left foot and leaving Dane Gagai behind to make it 18-6. With two minutes left in the half, Jacob Preston stripped Naufahu Whyte one-on-one and Martin powered over for his second try off a Tom Dearden short ball. The half-time numbers told the story of the final: Australia held 59 per cent of possession, ran 772 metres to New Zealand’s 482, and the Kiwis had missed 19 tackles to Australia’s three.

Even at 24-6 down, Australia coach Kevin Walters demanded more at the break. “It was a good first half but we’ve just got to back it up,” he said. “We’ve got to have some attention to detail around our defence and our last tackle option.” His side answered within four minutes of the restart, Walsh dancing past three defenders to send Trbojevic over in the corner for 28-6.

Kiwis Fight To The End Of A Lost Final

Stacey Jones’ side kept coming. McLean’s night ended early when he failed a head injury assessment, Mulitalo climbed highest to bring down a kick over the line on 58 minutes only for the bunker to rule he had lost control of the ball in the contest, and the Kiwis finally scored again in the 67th minute, Nikorima’s grubber sitting up for Papali’i to follow through. Isaako converted for 28-12, but a Briton Nikora error in the very next set drained the last of the momentum, and New Zealand’s fourth lost World Cup final was sealed.

The closing act belonged to the past and future of the green and gold at once. With six minutes left, Walters sent on James Tedesco, the captain of the 2022 triumph over Samoa, for a farewell cameo in what the NRL confirmed was his last Test match. Tedesco was on the field when Best delivered a flick pass for player of the match Bostock to dot down in the left corner and ice the 32-12 win. The full scoring record for the final, as listed in the LeagueUnlimited match report, reads: Australia tries to Martin (2), Bostock (2), Best and Trbojevic, with Munster kicking three conversions and a penalty goal; New Zealand tries to McLean and Papali’i, with Isaako converting both, in front of a crowd of 52,461.

Four Straight Titles And A Brisbane Double

Bostock’s finish closed a tournament that rewrote his career. The 23-year-old Dolphins centre, playing on the wing, had never represented Australia before this World Cup; he ends it as player of the match in the final with nine tournament tries. For the Kangaroos as a group, the numbers now read like a dynasty’s ledger: 13 World Cup titles, the last four in a row across Manchester in 2013, Brisbane in 2017, Manchester again in 2022 and Brisbane in 2026, and 23 consecutive World Cup match wins. Their last defeat in a final came against these same opponents at this same ground in 2008, when New Zealand won 34-20 for their only title. The rematch had promised a contest: the two sides opened this tournament on October 15 with Australia edging a 24-22 epic, and they arrived at the final through semi-finals iimiTV covered live, Australia’s 44-12 rout of Samoa and New Zealand’s 34-10 win over Tonga.

Sunday also completed an Australian double at Suncorp. Hours before the men kicked off, the Jillaroos beat the Kiwi Ferns 34-10 to win a record fourth straight women’s title, and the two finals even traded the same record between them, Chapman’s 125-second opening try standing as the fastest in a World Cup final only until Martin crossed in 84 seconds. Two Australian teams, two fourth straight crowns, one stadium, one day: the rest of the rugby league world now has four years to find an answer.

References

NRL.com, “Kangaroos stand tall to make it a World Cup four-peat,” November 15, 2026. LeagueUnlimited, “Kangaroos bounce Kiwis to claim 2026 World Cup,” November 15, 2026. Love Rugby League, “Record smashed as Australia win Rugby League World Cup final,” November 15, 2026. Sky Sports, “Australia 32-12 New Zealand: Kangaroos brush off Kiwis to win fourth-straight world title,” November 15, 2026.