Abbi Church scores four as Australia beat Fiji to reach World Cup final

Australia secured a place in their fifth consecutive Women's Rugby League World Cup final with a 30-14 victory over Fiji at Sydney Football Stadium. Abbi Church scored four tries as the defending champions recovered from an early deficit to keep their pursuit of a fourth straight title alive, BBC Sport reported.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8v1Qg1BfxI

Fiji, playing in their first World Cup, led 8-0 before Australia drew level at 8-8 by half-time. The result sets up a final against New Zealand in Brisbane next Sunday, with kick-off scheduled for 05:10 GMT. Fiji had already tested New Zealand in their opening match of the tournament, losing 18-12, before giving Australia another demanding contest in the semi-final.

The opening breakthrough followed sustained Fiji pressure and mistakes from Australia. Simaima Taufa conceded a penalty under the posts after 12 minutes, and Fiji chose to take the two points. Four minutes later, captain Sereana Naitokatoka took possession from Jaime Chapman close to the Australian line. Luisa Yaranamua then scored and converted to extend the advantage. According to the BBC, Fiji became the first team since New Zealand in the 2013 World Cup final to score first against Australia.

Australia's response came in the final 10 minutes of the first half. Church crossed in the right corner before Tamika Upton found a route through the defence after Fiji were forced into a drop-out. Jocelyn Kelleher missed both conversions, leaving the teams level. Upton also intervened defensively, pushing a Fiji grubber kick behind to help prevent Australia from going into the interval trailing.

Church added two more tries after the break, with Chapman also crossing as Australia took control. One of Church's finishes came from a Tarryn Aiken kick towards the corner, which she caught before grounding the ball while running at speed. The second-half scoring turned a level contest into an Australian victory after Fiji had disrupted the favourites' progress through the opening period.

Maria Paseka scored late for Fiji, but Church supplied Australia's final try. She gathered a Losana Lutu kick about 30 metres from her own line and ran clear to complete her four-try performance. Kelleher finished with three goals for Australia, while Yaranamua kicked three for Fiji, whose debut campaign ended one match short of the final.