Referee Says 'I Won't Cop It' as Samoa Gets Sin-Binned

Spencer Leniu was sent to the sin-bin late in the first half on Sunday night for dissent, and the referee told him exactly why. "You walked past and gave me a spray," Adam Gee said. "I won't cop it." Hours later, Australia had beaten Samoa 44-12 at Sydney's Allianz Stadium, and the whole evening read like a lesson in who gets to be heard and who gets to be punished.

Who Has the Power

The rulebook belongs to the officials, and the officials decided. Samoa had tries ruled out, three of them according to one account. One went in the 30th minute, chalked off by bunker official Chris Butler for a knock-on in the aerial contest involving Francis Manuleleua and Reece Walsh. Another, around the 70th minute, was disallowed for a potential obstruction on Liam Martin after Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow had scored off a Jarome Luai grubber and an Izack Tago offload. Samoa conceded 12 set restarts or penalties and made nine errors in the match.

Samoa coach Ben Gardiner picked his words carefully. He refused to blame the referees for the loss. But he said Australia benefited from "home ground calls." A coach with a squad and a tournament to protect can only say so much.

Australia hasn't lost a game on home soil in 11 years, according to one account. Samoa and Tonga have one win over Australia from a combined 10 attempts, per the same account. Defending champion Australia has won each World Cup since 2013, 13 years of it, and New Zealand's 2008 title remains the only break in an otherwise Australian domination of the world championship since 1975.

What People Actually Did

Before a ball was kicked, Samoa's Siva Tau, led by Junior Paulo and performed by 19 players, ended with the teams face to face. Brian To'o and Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, who is eligible to play for Samoa, touched foreheads. Samoa's national anthem was sung by Lapi, the father of Deine Mariner. Several players cried.

A crowd of 41,529 turned up, with Samoan supporters prominent. During a minute's silence for Paul Langmack, who died this week aged 61, whistles and shouting could be heard inside the stadium. Cameron Munster shook his head at the interruption.

Paulo, the Samoan captain, spoke last and spoke plainly. "Despite the result, it's still 685 to the world," he said, referring to Samoa's international phone code. "From the start we spoke about it was always for the culture and we wouldn't change a thing. We'll ride it until the wheels fall off. The future's in good hands. At the start of this journey we all knew what we were capable of and we were unfortunately not up to that tonight and that's a credit to the Aussie boys for turning out the way they did. We wish them all the best next week."

What the Scoreboard Says

Walsh scored a hat-trick, celebrating his first try with a backflip, and borrowed a security guard's chair to put his boot back on. Australia posted eight tries to Samoa's two and led 26-2 at the break. Samoa opened with a Stephen Crichton penalty goal in the fourth minute after Manuleleua dropped the ball on a set restart and Australia was penalised for offside, and didn't trouble the scorers again until early in the second half.

The prize is a final against New Zealand next weekend at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium. New Zealand got there with a 34-10 win over Tonga on Saturday in Newcastle. The men's final kicks off at 7:35pm AEDT, following the women's final at 4:10pm AEDT.

Before then, Walsh is in the frame for the Golden Boot, to be awarded Thursday to the best international player of the year, according to one account. Leniu, meanwhile, came under fire from News.com.au for an "explosive gesture" as Samoa was eliminated. The gesture isn't described in the available text. The dissent, though, got a whistle and ten minutes on the sideline. The 41,529 got their final. The men who sang, cried and touched foreheads got a flight home.