Bumper crowds watch hosts and defending champions get off to a flyer
Rugby League World Cup 2021 chief executive Jon Dutton was delighted to get the tournament underway after many years of planning with a fantastic Saturday of action in front of bumper crowds. The men's tournament began with an emphatic 60-6 victory for hosts England over Samoa with 43,119 in attendance at St James' Park while defending champions Australia got the better of Fiji at Headingley, 42-8 to bring the day's cumulative crowd just under 60,000.