Valentine Holmes became the first player in history to score five tries in a Test match for Australia in a spectacular performance for the Kangaroos in their 46-0 win over Samoa.
Holmes scored the first two four pointers of the game, the second a long-range 80-metres effort, then another two in the second period as Australia cruised into the semi finals with the comprehensive victory.
Playing alongside Josh Dugan on the left-hand side for the Kangaroos, Holmes accepted a tap back from his new Sharks teammate for the first of his five four-pointers. The Sharks star then managed three more after half time to be a standout as man-of-the-match.
Holmes also ran for an amazing 264 metres from 15 carries on the night.
"I'm speechless. I'm very honoured, it's awesome," Holmes said of his record-breaking evening.
The Kangaroos were far too good for the Samoans, racking up a 30-0 half time lead, before going on with the job in the second period.
While Holmes was rightly accepting the majority of the accolades, across the board Australia were dominant, with Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater combining brilliantly, with the big men doing their job to create space for the skill players.
Dugan was solid at left centre and Wade Graham got through 41 minutes after being injected into the game late in the first half.
On the other side of the ledger Sharks Ricky Leutele and Joseph Paulo would have been left disappointed by the performance of their team, however Leutele was amongst his sides best players and can hold his head high after a strong World Cup campaign.
Australia now move on to play the winner of New Zealand and Fiji in a semi-final match to be played in Brisbane next Friday night.
Samoa are eliminated from the tournament.
Australia 46
Holmes 5, Morgan 2, Slater tries Smith 7 goals
beat
Samoa 0
