Australia 30-10 Samoa: Kangaroos claim third consecutive World Cup with hard-fought victory

Australia won the World Cup for the third time with a hard-fought 30-10 victory over Samoa.

Mal Meninga's side lived up to their billing as overwhelming favorites, despite the support of the Pacific Islanders.

The defensive performance laid the groundwork for the Kangaroos to win their 12th competition.

Latrell Mitchell, James Tedesco, and Liam Martin all scored for Australia in the first half.

While they were temporarily reduced to 12 men, they were still able to hold on and go further ahead when Cameron Murray scored.

Brian To'o's try briefly raised hopes of a fightback from Matt Parish's team, but they were quickly snuffed out as Nathan Cleary and CAMERON MUNSTER combined to send Tedesco racing in on the angle into the left corner.

Stephen Crichton, the golden point hero against England, ensured a respectable score for Samoa in their first World Cup final with a fine intercept try.

It wasn't enough to stop Australia from maintaining their dominance on the tournament as Mitchell went over in the final moments to round off the scoring.

Serial winners Australia prove too strong

Josh Addo-Carr was unable to score a record 13th try of the tournament in the final.

However, he still played a key role for the green and golds, speeding past four Samoan defenders to find his captain Tedesco supporting on the inside as Australia increased their lead after Mitchell had scored the first try.

Australia was able to put the final beyond their opponents' reach due to a spring in their step and a lack of good early attacking positions.

Meninga's team conceded just 38 points over their six matches, and will leave England with a clean bill of health.

When it comes to the World Cup, Australia are simply the better team, and so much was made of the impact Jarome Luai and the rest of the Samoans could have.

There were 14 errors and a completion rate of just 68%, but they were ruthless and efficient when it counted.