A dazzling Test debut by Nathan Cleary and four tries to Josh Addo-Carr led the Kangaroos to an 84-0 win over Scotland in Coventry.
Three weeks after leading the Panthers to back-to-back premierships, Cleary had a personal tally of 28 points, while Addo-Carr took his tournament tally to six tries in two games as Australia racked up their biggest World Cup win since 2000.
Australia got the ball rolling in the sixth minute when Cleary sent a cut-out pass over the top to Addo-Carr before the halfback took the ball to the line and put centre Jack Wighton into a hole on the right edge to make it 10-0.
Roosters back-rower Angus Crichton made it two tries in two games when he pounced on the loose ball after Lachlan Walmsley spilled a Cleary bomb.
Campbell Graham celebrated his Test debut with a try in the 21st minute when he finished off some good lead-up by hooker Harry Grant, Cleary and Wighton.
Cleary's impressive opening to his Test career continued in the 28th minute when he scooted over from dummy half and the Kangaroos were keeping pace with the clock at 28-0.
A dropped ball by Scotland five-eighth Bailey Hayward on the halfway mark was swooped on by Crichton who found Matt Burton and he sent the ball out to Addo-Carr who raced 50 metres to grab his second of the night.
Wighton completed his double in the 35th minute after a strong run by Liam Martin, who evaded a couple of defenders and sent a well timed pass back inside to the Raiders star.
Campbell Graham grabs a hat-trick on debut
Skipper James Tedesco opened the second half in style with his second try of the tournament before a scheming Cameron Munster skipped across field and put Ben Hunt into a hole as the score hit 52-0.
Addo-Carr completed his hat-trick in the 49th minute before Graham made it a double 10 minutes later and Burton crossed on debut as the magin blew out to 68 points.
Graham's dream debut continued in the 74th minute when he made it a hat-trick courtesy of a deft grubber by Grant.
Isaah Yeo also enjoyed a fine Test debut and he grabbed a late try in the match after Munster hooked a kick across field and Ben Hunt flew high to pull it down and find the Panthers co-captain in support.
Some brilliant play by Burton to keep the ball alive gave Addo-Carr the chance to kick ahead and chase for a dazzling four-pointer to give him four tries.
This article contains content that is only available on NRL.com
Match Snapshot
- The Kangaroos had six players on Test debut - Matt Burton, Nathan Cleary, Isaah Yeo, Liam Martin, Campbell Graham and Lindsay Collins.
- Scotland second-rowers Euan Aitken and Kane Linnett have played 343 NRL games between them.
- Roosters prop Lindsay Collins took the field on Test debut in the 25th minute, emulating his grandfather Lionel Williamson who played 11 Tests for Australia between 1968-73.
- Australia's only other Test match against Scotland was in 2016 at Hull, with the green and gold winning 54-12.
- Scotland had just five play-the-balls inside Australia's half in the opening 40 minutes.
- Australia finished the Test with 14 line breaks to none for Scotland.
- Scotland second-rower Kane Linnett was sent to the sin bin in the 59th minute for a professional foul.
- A crowd of 10,276 braved wet conditions in Coventry for the match.
- Scotland bench forward Luke Bain, who plays for the Eels in NSW Cup, took the fight up to Parra superstar Reagan Campbell-Gillard late in the match as tempers flared.
Plays of the Game
Matt Burton's between the legs flick to Josh Addo-Carr had to be seen to be believed and gave the winger the chance to kick ahead and touch down for his fourth try. Burton enjoyed a strong debut in the green and gold and he came up with a special play to keep the ball alive for his Bulldogs team-mate.
The Burton and Foxx magic show
Among of host of quality players for the Kangaroos, skipper James Tedesco again set the standard for his men. Early in the second half Tedesco took off from his own side of halfway and beat three defenders before taking the tackle 15 metres out. He produced a quick play the ball to Ben Hunt who bamboozled a couple of defenders before sending the ball back to Tedesco, who skipped through two more tackles to plunge over for his fifth try in green and gold.
What They Said
"It felt pretty surreal, I was a bit nervy this morning waking up, it sort of started to sink in once we got to the ground that I would be representing the green and gold. Mum and dad made the trip out here and this is my mum’s home town, so it all came together pretty funny, but I couldn’t have thought of a better debut really. I have a lot of family here representing me and for me to represent them, is a huge honour." - Kangaroos debutant Campbell Graham
Meninga: We'll make those tough decisions when the time comes
"We've always gone out with the intent to enjoy this tournament. A lot of our players are working during the day and come in and deliver the footy of an evening at their clubs, so for those type of guys in our squad this is a massive thing to be involved with and then for us to try and put performances together is another thing. Fiji is another big ask for us but we'll do a body count, we've had a bit of sickness in the camp this week, so we'll need to check on those guys and hopefully they'll be good to go next week. With the calibre of players in this Australian squad it's hard to see them not taking the Final." - Scotland coach Nathan Graham
What's Next
The Kangaroos round out the Pool games with a clash against Italy in St Helens next Sunday before a quarter-final likely against either Ireland or Lebanon. The Bravehearts will round out their tournament against Fiji in Newcastle and then start looking ahead to the 2025 campaign in France.