MOST tries in a Rugby League World Cup is a record held jointly by Valentine Holmes and and Josh Addo-Carr.
The mark they each set was 12. Having not even been in Samoa’s starting side for their 78-4 belting of France at CommBank Stadium last night, Sua Fa’alogo is already a third of the way there after just one match.
Coming on as a replacement early, the Melbourne star posted four tries and had a fifth disallowed for obstruction as Samoa set a new score and margin record with a Benaiah Ioelu try off the woodwork after fulltime.
In freakish circumstances, Stephen Crichton was shooting to beat his personal points record when the ball hit the left upright and bounced into the hooker’s arms. Crichton then got to snatch the record anyway with conversion from in front.
Before a somewhat sparse crowd at CommBank Stadium, Samoa eclipsed their 62-4 win in the corresponding game at the last tournament – when they memorably made the final.
France had a horror start with five-eighth Cesar Rouge and winger Leo Darrelatour suffering head knocks – but you couldn’t blame that for the the five tries conceded in the opening 18 minutes.
Centre Dene Mariner scored the first of them, after just three minutes, but before too long he was gone too – the victim of a torn hamstring.
His replacement was Melbourne’s Sua Fa’alogo who helped himself to a double before halftime as Toa Samoa repeatedly made the extra man on the left, as they had for Mariner.
Les Chanticleers did managed to peg one back in the 25th minute, a nicely worked blinside move involving Ben Garcia and Louis Grossemy resulting in Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet sneaking over in the south-western corned.
Samoa didn’t score between the 17th and 37th minutes and that felt like a victory of sorts for them.
SAMOA 78 (Fa’alogo 4 Ioelu 2 Mariner McEwen Hamiso-Fidow Crichton Blore Harris-Tevita Tago Molo tries Crichton 11 goals) beat FRANCE 4 (Aispuro-Bichet try) at CommBank Stadium.
Teams:
SAMOA: Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (Dolphins); Brian To’o (Penrith), Izack Tago (Penrith), Stephen Crichton (Canterbury), Deine Mariner (Brisbane); Chanel Harris-Tavita (Warriors), Jarome Luai (c, Wests Tigers); Francis Molo (Dolphins), Benaiah Ioelu (Sydney Roosters), Junior Paulo (c, Parramatta), Connelly Lemuelu (Dolphins), Jermaine McEwen (Newcastle), Francis Manuleleua (Newcastle).
Reserves: Jazz Tevaga (Wakefield), Spencer Leniu (Sydney Roosters), Shawn Blore (Melbourne), Sua Fa’alogo (Melbourne), Ata Mariota (Canberra), Clayton Faulalo (Manly).
FRANCE: Arthur Mourgue (Hull KR); Benjamin Laguerre (Toulouse), Latrell Siegwalt (South Sydney), Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet (Catalans), Léo Darrélatour (Catalans); César Rougé (Toulouse), Theo Fages (Pia); Romain Navarrete (Catalans), Benjamin Garcia (capt, Catalans), Lambert Belmas (Toulouse), Arthur Romano (Hull FC), Mathieu Jussaume (Toulouse), Mathieu Cozza (Huddersfield).
Reserves: Amir Bourouh (Hull FC), Tiaki Chan (Toulouse), Jordan Dezaria (Hull KR), Thomas Lacans (Toulouse), Louis Grossemy (Toulouse), Joe Drodrolagi (Carcassonne).
Referee: Ashley Klein
