When Josh Addo-Carr said he wanted to prove a point at this Rugby League World Cup he certainly wasn’t joking.
The Bulldog winger is still smarting from his State of Origin snub and took his tournament tally to six with a four-try haul in the Kangaroos 84-0 victory over Scotland.
And it wasn’t just how many he scored but how he scored them, his final score in the closing seconds promptly installed as an early contender for try of the tournament.
Addo-Carr is about more than just sheer pace and this was a score based on pure footballing ability, after Matt Burton had acrobatically kept the ball in play.
Few players are more lethal in sight of the try line and Addo-Carr brilliantly chased home his own precision kick, muscling out Scotland’s retreating defenders.
Coach Mal Meninga scored some specials in the 21 tries he scored for the Kangaroos but admitted this effort eclipsed them all.
“There aren’t many tries that rank alongside that one,” he said. “There has been many great tries scored in international rugby league but that was is right up there.”
Meninga didn’t have a bad word to say about this flawless performance, although Scotland are a team of part-timers ranked 15th in the world.
Australian captain James Tedesco knows the challenges that lie ahead and is equally staying grounded - even with ‘Flying Fox’ Addo-Carr in special form.
“Foxy does things that other players just can’t,” he said. “He’s got lightning speed and creates something out of nothing. I can’t think of too many players who could have scored that try.”
Asked about his wonder try Addo-Carr, deflected the praise with a grin on his face, even if you want your playmakers to play with a swagger that straddles confidence and arrogance in these big tournaments.
“It was a great team performance, the most pleasing thing was keeping them to zero and how we played the Australian way,” he said.
“We were tough, resilient, ruthless, there have been great Australian sides in the past but we want to build our own legacy and we are on the right path for doing that.
“It’s always been a goal to win a World Cup and be part of a World Cup. It’s something I haven’t achieved before and I’m loving being part of this team.”
Meninga claims he is no closer to choosing his first choice halfback, despite Nathan Cleary’s sparkling Kangaroos debut.
Cleary’s battle with Daly Cherry-Evans for a starting slot is just one of the many selection dilemmas facing Meninga, whose all-star team ruthlessly put the Scotland’s Bravehearts to the sword.
Within 30 minutes the Penrith Panthers star had a try and three assists, his 28-point display, which included 12 goals, moving him to the top of the tournament scoring charts.
“He feels part of the team now, he’s in the dressing room talking and joking and he had a great game,” said Meninga. “That’s what we want from our key guys.
“It’s hard to compare (Cherry-Evans’ game against Fiji and Cleary’s performance against Scotland). It was very different opposition and we’re being really patient with that halfback decision.”
Scottish coach Nathan Graham had hoped Campbell Graham would be part of his Bravehearts side, spending the last few years courting the South Sydney Rabbitohs’ outside back.
However, the one-year pandemic delay to the tournament gave the 23-year-old a chance to earn a call-up to Meninga’s squad - his Glaswegian-born dad and Coventry-raised mum watching in the stands with a gaggle of ‘Aussies for the night’ cousins, aunts and uncles.
“We’ve always known the situation with Campbell and if he wasn’t getting in the Australia squad, he’d have been with us. As soon as he got picked I got on the blower and wished him well,” said Graham.
“It’s a bit nasty of him to score a hat-trick against us on debut though.”
The Rugby League World Cup promises to be the biggest, best and most inclusive event in the sport’s 127-year history with men’s, women’s and wheelchair teams competing in 61 games across 21 venues throughout England. Tickets are available via rlwc2021.com/tickets
