The 2021 Rugby League World Cup knockout stage took place after the group stages of the 2021 Men's Rugby League World Cup, and ended with the Final, at Old Trafford. The quarter-finals comprised eight teams; the top two teams from each group; Group A, Group B, Group C and Group D. All quarter-finalists automatically qualified for the 2025 Rugby League World Cup.[1]
Bracket
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 5 November – Wigan | ||||||||||
 England | 46 | |||||||||
| 12 November – London | ||||||||||
 Papua New Guinea | 6 | |||||||||
| England | 26 | |||||||||
| 6 November – Warrington | ||||||||||
 Samoa (g.p.) | 27 | |||||||||
 Tonga | 18 | |||||||||
| 19 November – Manchester | ||||||||||
| Samoa | 20 | |||||||||
| Samoa | 10 | |||||||||
| 4 November – Huddersfield | ||||||||||
 Australia | 30 | |||||||||
| Australia | 48 | |||||||||
| 11 November – Leeds | ||||||||||
 Lebanon | 4 | |||||||||
| Australia | 16 | |||||||||
| 5 November – Hull | ||||||||||
 New Zealand | 14 | |||||||||
| New Zealand | 24 | |||||||||
 Fiji | 18 | |||||||||
Quarter-finals
Quarter-final 1: Australia vs Lebanon
| Australia | 48–4 | Lebanon |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Addo-Carr (5) 5', 16', 19', 45', 59' Mitchell 24' Murray (2) 30', 33' Martin 69' Goals: Cleary (6/9) 17', 31', 34', 46', 60', 70' | Report | Tries: Mansour 52' Goals: Moses (0/1) |
John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield Attendance: 8,206 Referee: Chris Kendall (England) Touch judges: Wyatt Raymond (Australia), Warren Turley (England) Player of the Match: Josh Addo-Carr (Australia) |
Quarter-final 2: England vs Papua New Guinea
Catherine, Princess of Wales attended this match in her capacity as patron of the Rugby Football League.[2][3]
| England | 46–6 | Papua New Guinea |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Burgess 6' Makinson (5) 9', 18', 27', 58', 75' Young 14' Williams 21' Watkins 24' Goals: Makinson (5/9) 7', 20', 22', 26, 28' | Report | Tries: Ngutlik 70' Goals: Martin (1/1) 71' |
DW Stadium, Wigan Attendance: 23,179 Referee: Liam Moore (England) Touch judges: Darian Furner (Australia), Jack Smith (England) Player of the Match: Tommy Makinson (England) |
Quarter-final 3: New Zealand vs Fiji
| New Zealand | 24–18 | Fiji |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Mulitalo 25' Nikora 48' Manu 62' Rapana 78' Goals: Rapana (4/5) 27', 49', 64', 71' pen | Report | Tries: Sivo 11' Naiqama (2) 17', 43' Goals: Wakeham (3/3) 12', 19', 44' |
MKM Stadium, Hull Attendance: 7,080 Referee: Gerard Sutton (Australia) Touch judges: Belinda Sharpe (Australia), Marcus Griffiths (England) Player of the Match: Joseph Manu (New Zealand) |
Quarter-final 4: Tonga vs Samoa
| Tonga | 18–20 | Samoa |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Tupou 7' Taukeiaho 32' S. Katoa 70' Goals: I. Katoa (3/4) 33', 49' pen, 71' | Report | Tries: Su'a 4' Luai 16' To'o 58' Goals: Crichton (4/4) 5', 18', 56' pen, 59' |
Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington Attendance: 12,674 Referee: Ashley Klein (Australia) Touch judges: Robert Hicks (England), Kasey Badger (Australia) Player of the Match: Anthony Milford (Samoa) |
Semi-finals
Semi-final 1: Australia vs New Zealand
| Australia | 16–14 | New Zealand |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Addo-Carr 16' Holmes 30' Murray 53' Goals: Cleary (2/3) 18', 55' | Report | Tries: Hughes 11' Brown 37' Goals: Rapana (3/3) 13', 26' pen, 39' |
Elland Road, Leeds Attendance: 28,113 Referee: Ashley Klein (Australia) Touch judges: Warren Turley (England), Wyatt Raymond (Australia) Player of the Match: Liam Martin (Australia) |
Semi-final 2: England vs Samoa
Samoa faced England in the semi-final at the Emirates Stadium in London. Tim Lafai scored the first try of the game in the sixth minute to give Samoa a 4–0 lead, and for the first time in the tournament, England conceded first. Five minutes later, Junior Paulo was shown a yellow card, and also put on report, for a dangerous tackle on George Williams. Elliott Whitehead scored England's first try on 25 minutes, with Tommy Makinson successful with the conversion, to give England a 6–4 lead. Five minutes later, Samoa scored again, this time from Ligi Sao to retake the lead 8–4; Stephen Crichton was successful with the conversion to give Samoa a 10–4 lead at half-time.
Five minutes into the second half, England scored again, this time through John Bateman, and Makinson was once again successful with the conversion to make it 10–10. Two tries in seven minutes saw Samoa take a 20–12 lead, with England now needing at least two tries to draw level. Herbie Farnworth broke clear on 65 minutes, to race away and touch down near the posts, giving Makinson an easy conversion. From the kick-off, England were awarded a penalty, after Sam Tomkins was tackled in the air. Samoa used the captain's challenge, and after a quick review, the video referee agreed with the decision to award the penalty, meaning the challenge was unsuccessful. Makinson opted to kick the penalty and was successful, levelling the scores at 20–20 with just over 12 minutes remaining. Stephen Crichton looked to have won it for Samoa with sven minutes to go, as he intercepted a Dom Young pass to touch down under the posts, converting his own try. There was more drama to come, as Farnworth got his second try of the game with two minutes remaining, Makinson once again converting to take the game to extra time.
Samoa attempted to score the golden point with a drop goal early in extra time, but it was charged down by England. Samoa eventually won the match after a forward pass from Sam Tomkins gave them possession 35 metres out. Crichton kicked the winning drop goal to send Samoa to their first World Cup final, making them the first team other than England, Australia or New Zealand to reach the final in 50 years.
The peak TV audience for the match was approximately 2.5 million views, which is the highest for any international rugby league match.[4]
| England | 26–27 (g.p.) | Samoa |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Whitehead 24' Bateman 44' Farnworth (2) 63', 77' Goals: Makinson (5/5) 25', 45', 63', 67' pen, 78' | Report | Tries: Lafai 6' Sao (2) 30', 56' Crichton (2) 48', 72' Goals: Crichton (3/5) 32', 49', 74' Drop goals: Milford (0/1) Crichton (1/1) 83' |
Emirates Stadium, London Attendance: 40,489 Referee: Gerard Sutton (Australia) Touch judges: Darian Furner (Australia), Jack Smith (England) Player of the Match: Jarome Luai (Samoa) |
Final: Australia vs Samoa
| Australia | 30–10 | Samoa |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Mitchell (2) 14', 80' Tedesco (2) 18', 69' Martin 30' Murray 53' Goals: Cleary (3/5) 19', 55', 70' Addo-Carr (0/1) | Report | Tries: To'o 61' Crichton 71' Goals: Crichton (1/2) 63' |
Old Trafford, Manchester Attendance: 67,502 Referee: Ashley Klein (Australia) Touch judges: Jack Smith (England), Warren Turley (England) Player of the Match: James Tedesco (Australia) |
| Australia | Position | Samoa | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Number | Number | Name | |
| 1 | Fullback | 1 | ||
| 2 | Wing | 2 | ||
| 3 | Centre | 3 | ||
| 4 | Centre | 4 | ||
| 5 | Wing | 5 | ||
| 6 | Stand off/Five eighth | 6 | ||
| 7 | Scrum half/Half back | 7 | ||
| 8 | Prop forward | 8 | ||
| 9 | Hooker | 9 | ||
| 10 | Prop forward | 10 | ||
| 11 | Second row | 11 | ||
| 12 | Second row | 12 | ||
| 13 | Loose forward/Lock forward | 13 | ||
| Interchange | ||||
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| Rugby League Project | ||||