Aussies crush Fiji to make World Cup final

Australia 52 Fiji 0

Full-back Billy Slater scored his second hat-trick of the World Cup and scrum-half Johnathan Thurston contributed 24 points as Australia eased through to a final showdown against New Zealand with a 52-0 win over minnows Fiji.

The deeply religious Fijiians sang a hymn on the pitch before kick-off but they were quickly looking for some divine intervention after the Kangaroos raced into a 16-0 lead after only eight minutes.

Fiji quickly overcame their hesitant start and shook Australia with some crunching defence, before the holders pulled away in the final quarter when Thurston scored a 10-minute hat-trick of tries and took his goal tally to six.