Australia has beaten England 28 20 in the opening match of the Rugby League World Cup in Cardiff.
The Kangaroos had to come back from 10 nil down midway through the first half as England overcame a troubled build up to make a bright start in the tournament opener.
Australia who are one of the tournament favourites had too much class in a match played under a closed roof at Millennium Stadium but they were left with plenty of room for improvement.
Five eighth Johnathan Thurston was involved in most of the key moments for Australia while debutant Andrew Fifita made a strong contribution off the bench.
In another match played this morning, Italy beat Wales 32-16.
Meanwhile, the Vodafone Fiji Bati is pooled with Australia, England and Ireland and will take on Ireland in their first pool game at 9am on Tuesday.
In tomorrow's matches, Papua New Guinea will play France at 5am while New Zealand will meet Samoa at 7am.
Story by: Dhanjay Deo
Source: Radio NZ
