RLWC live updates: Punch thrown, two players sent off as tempers explode

The Kiwis have flogged Fiji 78-0 on the Gold Coast in a game that saw two players sent off, one sin-binned, and a series of spot fires and all-in melees.

New Zealand has booked its spot in the semi-finals with the thumping win at Cbus Super Stadium.

Penrith outside back Casey McLean scored four tries.

Fijan forward Jordan Miller has been dumped in the sin bin for a headbutt in the 78th minute.

This has been one fiery game.

The Kiwis have not let up all afternoon.

Middle forward Erin Clark has just bashed over from close range with six minutes left to bring up 70 points for New Zealand.

The Kiwis are now leading Fiji 72-0.

Panthers and Blues star Casey McLean was bagged four tries.

This has been one ominous display on the Gold Coast.

New Zealand’s Ronaldo Mulitalo and Fiji’s Brandon Wakeham have both been sent off.

Mulitalo was sent off for hitting Ronald Philitoga high, and Wakeham was booted off the park for punching Mulitalo. They are both off for the remainder of the game.

Wakeham did not miss. Fiji’s halfback connected flush with Mulitalo’s jaw.

“They want a piece of him!” roared Corey Parker on Seven as Fiji’s players hounded Mulitalo.

Mulitalo, one of the game’s serial antagonists, will undoubtedly be charged tomorrow.

The Sharks winger may have played his last game of the tournament.

Barring a comeback of ludicrous proportions, New Zealand is en route to the semi-finals.

The equation is simple on the Gold Coast – the winner of this game between the Kiwis and Fiji will secure final-four qualification.

And, frankly, the Fijians aren’t in the same postcode.

New Zealand is thumping Fiji 48-0.

We’ve got 27 minutes to go.

With the exception of one or two changes – most notably Sam Walker – the Kangaroos side that will take on the Cook Islands is a full-strength team, according to Nine caller Peter Psaltis.

“This is the last game before the semi-finals, Reece Walsh is back, and I think that he will be the first choice No.1 for Kevin Walters moving into the semi-finals next week,” he said on Nine’s Weekend Today on Saturday.

"He's got options (at fullback), but I think that he's showing his hand this week.

“Even though Australia should be beating the Cook Islands tonight … this is, I think, pretty much close to our full-strength team.”

Roosters coach Trent Robinson has launched a passionate defence of Sam Walker following confirmation he would leave the club by the end of 2027.

On commentary duties for Seven’s coverage of the Rugby League World Cup, Robinson said he was disappointed the club hadn’t held on to its star half, but insisted neither party had done anything wrong and there was no bad blood between the two of them.

“On Monday you have the negotiations, you think it’s going to go one way, and it doesn’t,” he said.

“We wanted to sign Sam, we couldn’t get it done and that’s the business side of it.”

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

After a brilliant year for the Raiders, headlined by an Origin debut for the Blues, Ethan Strange will make his Kangaroos debut tonight against the Cook Islands.

Strange has been named on the bench, and could get a stint in the halves as coach Kevin Walters rotates his men to keep them fresh. The Kangaroos are already guaranteed progression into the semi-finals.

Strange was presented his Kangaroos jersey by his father John this week.

Speaking on Nine's Weekend Today on Saturday, Nine caller Peter Psaltis said the callup was just rewards for a stunning year.

"I think he's made for it, and he's going to be a representative player for both NSW and Australia for a long time to come," Psaltis said.

"He's been knocking on the door, been in and around the Australian team for some time. He's got the opportunity through the injury to Mitch Moses … I love it seeing another debutant for Australia.

"It's going to be a big occasion, the first of many for Ethan Strange."

Tigers and Fiji flier Api Koroisau has suffered a suspected broken jaw in the Bati's final World Cup match against New Zealand on the Gold Coast.

Just eight minutes into the clash, Koroisau was involved in a relatively innocuous-looking head clash with Kiwi lock Joseph Tapine.

Koroisau was seen with a trainer moments after the collision, and then came straight from the field. He was ruled out shortly after.

He is being taken straight to hospital for X-rays.

Despite beating Papua New Guinea in Wollongong last night, England looks almost certain to exit the Rugby League World Cup in the group stages.

Although they currently sit second on the combined Pool B and C ladder, with the top-two progressing to the semis, the first tiebreaker in the case of even points is head-to-head, not for and against.

So because Tonga beat England in the opening round, they would progress into the semis, unless Tonga beat Samoa by 47 points on Sunday, which would bump Samoa down to third on the ladder.

While criticism of the format is fair, England fans were also furious with their team's performance on Friday night.

Needing a 68-point swing against Samoa, they raced to a 22-0 lead in the opening 20 minutes, before the wind came right out of their sales. They went on to win only 34-12. They also made a whopping 20 errors, only making the task even harder.

It will be the first time in the history of the Rugby League World Cup England has failed to make the top-four.

“I’ve been one of the biggest critics of the format. It is categorically shite. There’s no clearer way to put it," The Guardian's Aaron Bower posted on X.

"But at some point, English rugby league will have to ask itself some brave questions. We’ve treated our national team like an afterthought and this is what we deserve."

The Sun's rugby league reporter Gary Carter accused the RFL of "sidelining" the national team.

Other pundits on social media said they had just witnessed the "death of English rugby league".