The quarter finals arrived and here's what happened.
Australia 48-4 Lebanon.
Australia were the hot favourites and after a quarter of the match, they led 30-0 at the break. It was a well drilled Kangaroos that outplayed their opponents. Lebanon wasn't bad but made to look ordinary. The second stanza was more even, partly due to some clunky play by Australia.
England 46-6 PNG.
England hit the ground running scoring 38 points in under 30 minutes. The best weather play I've ever seen. That was also the half time score as PNG got some possession and the greasy conditions had a say.
The second half was more what was expected with an arm wrestle ensuing. The Kumuls finally got a try in the 70th minute which was well deserved. In the end, the 46-6 scoreline was unexpected but reflected a clinical effort by England.
NZ 24-18 Fiji. (Picture above)
The Kiwis have an impressive squad but have below par games in their arsenal. It was looking like that here as the Bati took a deserved 12-0 lead after the first quarter. NZ didn't look too inventive on attack and the 12-6 lead to Fiji was well deserved.
An immediate score after the break had Fiji looking at a huge upset. The Kiwis came back to tie the scores then got a gaol from what seemed a fortuituous call for NZ. A last gasp try from NZ got them home anyway.
Tonga v Samoa.
This is always a tough game with Tonga the slight favourite. After a quarter of the contest Samoa was looking better and led 12-4. Tonga came back and the half time 12-8 scoreline had the game in the balance.
The arm wrestle contiuned but Samoa got its nose ahead 20-12 with a quarter of the match to go. Then with ten to go it was 20-18 and with players tiring it was anyones. Despite desperation from both sides at the death it was Samoa that earned the right to progress. They seemed the more polished team on the day.
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