Huddersfield: Josh Addo-Carr is on the verge of breaking the record for most tries at a single World Cup after bagging five tries in Australia’s resounding quarter-final victory over Lebanon on Saturday morning.
Australia’s 48-4 win at Huddersfield’s John Smiths Stadium, in which skipper James Tedesco was rested at half-time after picking up a cork, will now see them take on the winner of Sunday morning’s New Zealand-Fiji game in next week’s semi-finals.
Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga played down concerns over the fitness of his captain, who came into the game nursing a knee injury.
“It’s just a cork above his knee,” Meninga said. “He’ll be right for next week. He’s fine. Just precautionary. I’m not going to risk him. We had the game in hand, I felt, at half-time. It would have been silly if he went out there and played.”
It came on a record-breaking night for Addo-Carr, who made it 11 tries from three games in this year’s World Cup, including a hat-trick inside 19 minutes on Saturday. The record for the most tries at a tournament was set by his Kangaroos teammate Valentine Holmes, who scored 12 at the 2017 World Cup on home soil.
Holmes also set the record for the most tries in a single match during that tournament, bagging six in Australia’s semi-final victory over Fiji. Holmes scored five tries in a group match against Samoa during the same tournament, a feat Addo-Carr equalled in the comprehensive win over Michael Cheika’s Lebanon side.
Addo-Carr’s 11-try haul for the tournament is even more impressive considering he was rested by Meninga in their final group stage game against Italy. He now has potentially two games to surpass Holmes for the record.
“He’s excellent. He’s been terrific for us, not only on the field but off the field as well,” Meninga said. He’s great to be around, he plays for the team and does what he needs to do, which is score tries for us. It’s been a bit of an up and down year for Foxxy. The real Foxx is out at the moment. It’s really good.“
Meninga was referring to Addo-Carr being left out of Brad Fittler’s NSW team for this year’s State of Origin series. However Addo-Carr refused to be critical of the Blues despite his hot streak in the green and gold.
“It just wasn’t my time to put the Blues jersey on this year,” Addo-Carr said. “That’s footy. I moved on from it and concentrated on what I had to do with the Bulldogs. I’m really grateful for the opportunity Mal and the coaching staff have given me. I’m just loving my footy at the moment.
“I love being part of this squad. I feel like we have got something special. Coming into camp, I’ve felt the bond we’ve had throughout the camp. it’s special. I’m enjoying every moment of it. I’m just loving it.“
Standing in Australia’s way of a World Cup final berth at Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium is expected to be arch rivals New Zealand, who must first get through Fiji in the quarter-final at Hull on Sunday morning.
“We always planned to play the Kiwis in the semi-final,” Meninga said.
Australia’s 48-4 win at Huddersfield’s John Smiths Stadium, in which skipper James Tedesco was rested at half-time after picking up a cork, will now see them take on the winner of Sunday morning’s New Zealand-Fiji game in next week’s semi-finals.
Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga played down concerns over the fitness of his captain, who came into the game nursing a knee injury.
“It’s just a cork above his knee,” Meninga said. “He’ll be right for next week. He’s fine. Just precautionary. I’m not going to risk him. We had the game in hand, I felt, at half-time. It would have been silly if he went out there and played.”
It came on a record-breaking night for Addo-Carr, who made it 11 tries from three games in this year’s World Cup, including a hat-trick inside 19 minutes on Saturday. The record for the most tries at a tournament was set by his Kangaroos teammate Valentine Holmes, who scored 12 at the 2017 World Cup on home soil.
Holmes also set the record for the most tries in a single match during that tournament, bagging six in Australia’s semi-final victory over Fiji. Holmes scored five tries in a group match against Samoa during the same tournament, a feat Addo-Carr equalled in the comprehensive win over Michael Cheika’s Lebanon side.
Addo-Carr’s 11-try haul for the tournament is even more impressive considering he was rested by Meninga in their final group stage game against Italy. He now has potentially two games to surpass Holmes for the record.
“He’s excellent. He’s been terrific for us, not only on the field but off the field as well,” Meninga said. He’s great to be around, he plays for the team and does what he needs to do, which is score tries for us. It’s been a bit of an up and down year for Foxxy. The real Foxx is out at the moment. It’s really good.“
Meninga was referring to Addo-Carr being left out of Brad Fittler’s NSW team for this year’s State of Origin series. However Addo-Carr refused to be critical of the Blues despite his hot streak in the green and gold.
“It just wasn’t my time to put the Blues jersey on this year,” Addo-Carr said. “That’s footy. I moved on from it and concentrated on what I had to do with the Bulldogs. I’m really grateful for the opportunity Mal and the coaching staff have given me. I’m just loving my footy at the moment.
“I love being part of this squad. I feel like we have got something special. Coming into camp, I’ve felt the bond we’ve had throughout the camp. it’s special. I’m enjoying every moment of it. I’m just loving it.“
Standing in Australia’s way of a World Cup final berth at Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium is expected to be arch rivals New Zealand, who must first get through Fiji in the quarter-final at Hull on Sunday morning.
“We always planned to play the Kiwis in the semi-final,” Meninga said.
