Australia 30-14 Fiji: Women’s Rugby League World Cup semi-final – as it happened

Thanks for your company this afternoon and we hope you enjoyed that stirring Women’s World Cup semi-final. Join us next week for the final between Australia and New Zealand. What a decider that will be. Will Australia’s men get to make it a trans-Tasman doubleheader?

Don’t go anywhere. The Australia v Samoa semi-final is minutes away. Here’s our match report from this afternoon’s festivities. That was a brilliant display by Fiji in that semi-final. No one gave them much of a hope coming into this Test. Yes, they’d done a job on Wales and France but the Jillaroos looked imperious, having scored 224 points and only conceded a single try.

But the Bulikula made a mockery of that home team dominance, rattling the Australians with monstrous defence and marching out to an eight-point lead in the first half. Battered and bruised, Australia had to dig deep to stay in the game but their class won out.

As the Fijians tired, the Jillaroos surged back to their best, cutting the errors that blighted their first half and running away with the contest by scoring five tries in the second half, four of them to NSW Blues and Parramatta Eels superstar Abbi Church who had a match-high 205-running metres and four line-breaks.

Australia now face New Zealand in next weekend’s World Cup Final and they have a lot of improving to do if they are to overcome the red-hot Kiwis. 69th minute (Australia 30-14 Fiji): With the final play of the game, Abbi Church goes within a whisker of scoring a fifth try.

The ball went wide in a rapid sweeping movement but the final pass was just a fraction too flat and it sent Church staggering as she snatched it off her bootlaces. She stumbled to the turf but got up and went again, only to be finally scrambled to terra firma by the last line of defenders.

That’ll be the ball game, folks. Australia kick on the last tackle and Fiji stand still and look at each other. They invite disappointment into their lives and it arrives in the form. of Abbi Church – she swoops on the loose ball and races away, turning the Fiji fullback inside out in a jinking, snaking run to the line.

That’s Church’s fourth try of the Test! 66th minute (Australia 24-14 Fiji): Ten points the difference but just a few minutes to go. Kelly plays it to Upton and Abbi Church sniffs a fourth try but she’s scruffed from behind in the tackle and goes to ground. She has been awesome today.

Fiji have some wind in their sails after that try and are swarming in defence. Having been run down a few minutes agao, Paseka finds her legs this time and scores in the corner! Fiji are back in this game… and they nail the conversion from out wide too. Are we in for a nail-biting finish to this semi-final?

62nd minute (Australia 24-8 Fiji): Finally, Paseka makes a bust for the Bulikula but after 25 staggered steps she’s run down easily by the Australian speedsters. Still, it sets Fiji up for a rare attacking passage in the Jillaroos red zone. Fiji captain Sereana Naitokatoka is screaming encouragement at her team for one last effort.

59th minute (Australia 24-8 Fiji): Australia have reversed those possession stats from the first half and are now wrestling total control, with 53% of the ball. They’ve made five line breaks to two and made six offloads to Fiji’s two. Although they are heavily fatigued, the Bulikula continue to muscle up in defence but they’re running on heavy legs but the penalty count is 6-2 against them in this half.

54th minute (Australia 24-8 Fiji): Kelleher has shanked another conversion attempt but it scarcely matters because Fiji have made another unforced error and handed back possession. The Bulikula look deflated now. They led this semi-final 0-8 but have now leaked five tries in succession as the home side slowly but surely found their mojo.

Chapman has left the field for the Jillaroos, her thigh heavily strapped. Sariah Paki is onto replace her. A third try of the second half for Australia and once again it is Abbi Church touching down for her third try. It was a lovely kick she latched onto and Australia have now scored five tries to Fiji’s one.

That Church treble makes three strikes inside 11 minutes. Is that the ball game? 48th minute (Australia 20-8 Fiji): Australia charge it back over halfway through Tiana Penitani Gray. Fiji give away a penalty for offside. The Jillaroos hoof it to the sideline and go again.

Straight away they go wide and the overlap is on but the Sergis tap pass goes behind Church and the move fizzles out. No matter, Upton grubbers in goal and Perseka knocks on attempting to dive on the bouncing ball. Here come the Jillaroos. The queen of the short side strikes again as Jaime Chapman crosses in the corner.

Australia are playing at pace now and the Fijians panicked en masse producing an overlap for Chapman to sizzle down the sideline and touch down inside the corner post. That’s Chapman’s 10th try of the tournament. And Kelleher nails a gorgeous conversion. 43rd minute (Australia 14-8 Fiji): Now the Jillaroos are starting to look like the champion side they are.

They’re holding onto the ball and it’s filled them with confidfence. Fiji look deflated by that last try and are now playing for intercepts. Unfortunately that attempt by Maria Paseka gets knocked-on and it sets up a fresh siege for Jillaroos. Sweet revenge for Jess Sergis who was pummelled in the last tackle set but recovered to launch that attacking move.

Her sublime tap-on found Abbi Church who dived over close to the posts. Jocelyn Kelleher is relieved to have a conversion closer to the pegs and slots her first of the day to put Australia out to a six-point lead. 37th minute (Australia 8-8 Fiji): Not the start Australia wanted as Shaylee Bent loses the ball in heavy contact.

Fiji start their march downfield. Talei Holmes gets it with 20m but the ensuring kick is way too heavy and Australia get an easy exit. They need all the lucky breaks they can get. Jess Sergis has been dumped like a sack of spuds by Sienna Laing and the Fijian defender goes again when the play-the-ball is slow.

Sergis is stunned and plays for the penalty but there’s none forthcoming. The second of our 35-minute halves is about to begin. Can Fiji deliver the biggest boilover in Women’s World Cup history by defeating the white-hot favourites Australia? The statistics tell the story for Australia.

They have lost the possession battle (44% to 56%) and their completion rate of 63% is way below the levels of their previous three games (and also that of Fiji’s 80%) . They’ve also made nine errors to Fiji’s three. The difference has been Australia has managed to punish those three errors with two tries against the tide.

Jillaroos coach Jess Skinner will need to dig deep into her book of oratory to get her team inspired in the second half. That was a torrid half for both sides. Fiji have really brought the thunder to this semi-final and Australia have been exposed in defence and even with ball-in-hand.

Rattled by some big tackles, the Jillaroos have been uncharacteristically clumsy in attack, losing the ball multiple times, being stripped in possession and frittering the little possession they’ve found. Stars Jaime Chapman and Jess Sergis copped heavy tackles and took time to rediscover their bearings.

It meant the home side were forced to turn to their bench early to change the momentum. The injection of Keeley Nizza and Kezie Apps made a difference but it’s probably thrown the Australian game plan into disarray. Eight-all is not a fair reflection of Fiji’s dominance but it sets us up for a spectacular second-half.

32nd minute (Australia 8-8 Fiji): Fiji need to hang on here. They owned the early stages but a couple of slips have cost them dearly. Australia continue to look a little flummoxed but there’s enough class on the field to punish those errors. Kezie Apps has made a difference since she came on the field.

Again, Australia struggle to leave their half and the Bulikula, through a couple of strong charges, are back within striking distance. But they’ve dropped the ball five metres out and again Australia are off the hook. Fiji have fallen asleep and Tamika Upton has cut through them for Australia’s second try.

The Jillaroos have been well below their best so far but they have seized on two Fiji errors and made them pay by notching points both times. Kelleher has missed the conversion, again going across the face, so we are all square at 8-all. 25th minute (Australia 4-8 Fiji): Another Fiji penalty and Australia find touch 25m out and go into hot potato mode.

Kezie Apps is on the field and immediately she combines with Upton and Church but the move splutters out and Aitken has to launch a stab kick to trap Fiji in goal. Finally, Australia have points! Fiji made their first error and the Jillaroos have smelt the blood and seized the moment.

Again, they went wide. Tarryn Aiken sniffed the overflap and Abbie Church finished the move in the right corner. Kelleher misses the kick from out wide as the ball snarls in these heavy winds and drifts across the face. 17th minute (Australia 0-8 Fiji): Australia are making heavy weather of their sets and again they are struggling to get out of their own half.

Fiji’s tackling continues to be ferocious. Jess Sergis makes a bust down the right sideline but again she is thumped in the tackle 30m from the line. Sergis has been injured in that tackle. She joins a growing Australian casualty list. The Jillaroos are calling for reinforcements but Fiji are yet to go to their bench.

13th minute (Australia 0-8 Fiji): Yaranamua adds the extras to make it an eight-point lead for the visitors. Australia, who have only conceded one try and six points all tournament, are now eight points down in the first quarter of this semi-final. They need to find something.

Cassie Staples tries to charge through a gap but is again cut down. This small crowd is in full voice now and everyone is cheering the underdog Fijians. Fiji are over! And it’s Luisa Yaranamua bringing the points yet again. She set up the siege with a spiral bomb that trapped the Australian back three in their own turf.

Then the Jillaroos had their pocket picked and now Yaranamua has sold a big dummy and crossed. 11th minute (Australia 0-2 Fiji): Lorren Ieli has smashed Isabelle Kelly in the tackle and she pushes back the Jillaroos enforcer with heavy defence. Tarryn Aiken has now lost the ball and the crowd are cheering this incredible defence by the Fijian women.

Now they have pegged the ball into the in-goal and Australia are pinned. Now the Fijians have stolen the ball and are on the attack yet again. Australia in serious trouble here and will be lucky to hang on. First points to the visitors as Luisa Yaranamua pots the goal from 20-metres out.

8th minute (Australia 0-0 Fiji): Australia have made another mistake. Jocelyn Kelleher has coughed it up this time and players are flying in for some old fashioned push and shove. The Jillaroos are in the fight of their lives here. It’ll be a midfield penalty for the Bulikula.

Chapman is back in the line and seems to have shaken off that early knock. 5th minute (Australia 0-0 Fiji): The Jillaroos have weathered some serious attack from Fiji but they’ve got the ball back and now try to settle. They are yet to break out of their own half.

They finally manage to get through a set but it’s come at a cost. Jaime Chapman has been staggered in the Isabella Waterman tackle. She rises slowly and the Jillaroos thump it downfield through the boot of Tarryn Aiken. 3rd minute (Australia 0-0 Fiji): Australia’s Abbie Church has been run over the sideline and now it’s Fiji on the attack.

They launch wave after wave but can’t snap the golden line. Talei Holmes gets it over the line but can’t find the turf. Held up! This is an exciting start for the visitors. Australia look rattled. 1st minute (Australia 0-0 Fiji): Fiji kick off and Australia run it into the teeth of the Bulikula.

Olivia Higgins gets a short ball through and the pace is frantic and Shaylee Bent looks to have lost it in the tackle. But no, it’s adjudged a rake and Australia win the penalty. Anthems are done and I can confirm the Jillaroos were in full voice. The Bulikula are now forming a circle to sing the Christian hymn called “Oqo na Noqu Masu” (This is My Prayer).

This is a team “built on faith, carried by sweat”. Voices soaring through the stadium, it’s a beautiful spine-tingling moment and a nice dose of gravity before the teams throw themselves into combat. It’s been a strange day in Sydney: baking sun, belting rain, swirling winds, strange chills.

Right now there’s blue skies and thick banks of cloud overhead but the field – a notoriously slow drainer - looks shipshape as the players prepare to take the field. Only a few thousand spectators in their seats so far but a steady stream coming in for this double-header.

Here come the players, Australia in their sunshine gold jerseys with green stripes, Fiji rocking light blue and navy. Now for the anthems. Cross-code superstar Stacey Waaka, already a winner of a Rugby Union World Cup, is now chasing another in Rugby League. Her three tries last night moved the Kiwis speedster one step closer to the tantalising double.

For those who missed last night’s semi-final between New Zealand and Samoa here’s our match report. The Bulikula are building beautifully for their first World Cup finals campaign and have gone with the same 17 who demolished France and PNG. Maria Paseka returns on the wing after missing two games with a leg injury meaning Tahlia Marshall moves to the bench.

Lorren Ieli gets a start at prop, Leilani Ahsam shifts to lock and Talei Holmes joins the back row. The dangerous Teaghan Hartigan returns on the bench. Jillaroos coach Jess Skinner is unleashing some serious firepower on the Bulikula. Powerful props Simaima Taufa and Millie Elliott return to the side after earning a rest in last week’s record win over Wales, while Tiana Penitani Gray is back in the second row after recovering from a foot niggle.

In the halves, Jocelyn Kelleher and Tarryn Aiken will recombine as Australia’s attacking axis. Here’s how the green-and-gold line-up today… 1. Tamika Upton. 2. Jaime Chapman. 3. Jessica Sergis. 4. Isabelle Kelly (c). 5. Abbi Church. 6. Jocelyn Kelleher. 7. Tarryn Aiken8.

Millie Elliott. 9. Olivia Higgins. 10. Simaima Taufa. 11. Tiana Penitani Gray. 12. Shaylee Bent. 13. Olivia Kernick. Interchange: 14. Keeley Nizza. 15. Keilee Joseph. 16. Kezie Apps. 17. Sariah Paki. 18. Sheridan Gallagher. 19. Ellie Johnston. 20. Jesse Southwell.

21. Quincy Dodd. 22. Makenzie Weale Greetings sports fans! Welcome to Sydney’s Allianz Stadium for live coverage of the Women’s Rugby League World Cup semi-final between Australia and Fiji. The winner today will advance to the Big Dance next week against New Zealand who disposed of Samoa by 32-10 in Newcastle last night.

Will Australia continue on their merry way through this tournament to set up a trans-Tasman blockbuster? Or will Fiji spring the mother of all ambushes today and crack the final in their first ever World Cup? The Fiji Bulikula have had a wonderful tournament so far.

They almost pulled a major upset against New Zealand in round one, going down 18-12 after leading at half-time. They went one better in round two, pummelling Papua New Guinea by 40-4 in Port Moresby. Last week, they flayed the French 54-6 on the Gold Coast, a 10-try romp that put the World Cup frontrunners on notice.

Australia’s Jillaroos have been awesome in every game, scoring 242 points and only conceding six. They started their World Cup campaign with a 40-0 demolition of Samoa in Sydney then put 78-points on England without conceding one in Perth. Last week they had Wales on the rack to the tune of 100-0 before they finally leaked a try.

They ran out 124-6 winners as winger Jaime Chapman bagged six tries. That forms spells trouble for Fiji but the Bulikula are fast starters and will throw everything they have at the home side. Either way, an exciting afternoon awaits. I’ll be back with team sheets shortly.

But feel free to drop me a line at angus.fontaine.freelance@theguardian.com if you’ve got thoughts, theories or throwaways throughout the day. Kick-off today is 5:45pm AEDT. Batten ‘em down and buckle ‘em up. It’s semi-finals time!