Ponga awaits scans after Bostock hat-trick seals Australia World Cup win

Kalyn Ponga will undergo scans on a suspected arm fracture after New Zealand lost 24-22 to Australia in Thursday's men's Rugby League World Cup opener in Sydney. BBC Sport reported that the full-back continued playing for about 20 minutes after being hurt, before leaving a match decided by Australian debutant Jack Bostock's third try.

Watch the highlights:

Bostock finished with 231 running metres and the player-of-the-match award at Allianz Stadium, according to NRL.com's match report. His three tries made him the first player to score a hat-trick on his Kangaroos debut since Campbell Graham against Scotland at the 2022 World Cup. A crowd of 41,255 watched Australia secure the two-point victory at the start of their campaign.

ABC News reported that Bostock's opening score came from a 90-metre interception. He later collected a Cameron Munster kick for his second, before the same combination produced the decisive score with fewer than four minutes remaining. On that final play, Bostock wrestled possession from Jamayne Isaako after the New Zealand winger appeared to have gathered the high ball.

Ponga had scored twice on his first Test appearance for New Zealand, but his injury left his further involvement in the tournament uncertain. Coach Stacey Jones told BBC Sport that a fracture was possible and that the team would await scans before making a decision. Jones said Ponga had been unable to catch the ball and was in considerable discomfort.

Australia also had fitness concerns during the contest. Mitchell Moses left shortly after half-time with a calf injury, with Tom Dearden replacing him, NRL.com reported. Reece Walsh, returning after eight weeks out following an ankle injury, delivered a first-half tackle that stopped Ponga scoring and later ran 60 metres for a try, according to BBC Sport.

Walsh vomited after that scoring effort and could not take the conversion, although he remained in the match. Australia coach Kevin Walters praised both his defensive intervention and attacking contribution on his return. For New Zealand, the immediate medical question remained unresolved: Jones had not confirmed a fracture or ruled Ponga out of the rest of the World Cup.