Ireland vs Australia: the 50–0 Rugby League World Cup Result
Ireland’s men lost 50–0 to Australia at Thomond Park in 2013. Check the rugby league head-to-head, scorers, half-time score and World Cup context.
Australia beat Ireland 50–0 at Thomond Park, Limerick, on 9 November 2013, in Group A of the men’s Rugby League World Cup. It is the sole meeting listed in Rugby League Project’s senior international head-to-head record as of 14 October 2026. This is the thirteen-a-side rugby league record, not Ireland’s rugby union record against the Wallabies. (European Rugby League result archive; senior international head-to-head)
The match at a glance
| Detail | Record |
|---|---|
| Date | 9 November 2013, local date in Ireland |
| Competition | Men’s Rugby League World Cup, Group A |
| Venue | Thomond Park, Limerick |
| Full-time | Australia 50–0 Ireland |
| Half-time | Australia 26–0 Ireland |
| Attendance | 5,021 |
| Australia’s scoring | Nine tries and seven conversions |
| Player of the match | Daly Cherry-Evans |
The date and competition are recorded by European Rugby League; the venue, half-time score, attendance and scoring details appear in the contemporary ABC/AAP report. The table uses the local date in Ireland, rather than the Australian report’s Sunday-morning date.
How Australia reached 50 points
Jarryd Hayne and Cooper Cronk scored two tries each. Greg Bird, Brett Morris, Billy Slater, Daly Cherry-Evans and Andrew Fifita supplied the other five. Cameron Smith kicked three conversions before Corey Parker took over after half-time and added four. That makes 36 points from tries plus 14 from conversions: 50 in total. (ABC/AAP match report)
Hayne opened the scoring inside 90 seconds. Australia had five tries by the interval, but Ireland then held them scoreless for roughly the first 17 minutes of the second half. Cronk’s second try broke that resistance, followed by scores from Cherry-Evans, Fifita and Hayne. (ABC/AAP)
Cherry-Evans was playing in place of the rested Johnathan Thurston. His individual try, scored after regathering his own short kick, helped cap a player-of-the-match performance, also confirmed by NRL.com’s contemporary player ratings.
What the result means for the record
The listed senior men’s head-to-head stands at one Australia win, no Ireland wins and no draws, with aggregate points of 50–0. Australia’s 100% winning record therefore describes one match—not a sustained series rivalry. The World Cup fixture is included in the senior international record; it should not be counted again as a separate meeting. (Rugby League Project)
For Ireland, the match completed a winless Group A campaign following a 32–14 loss to Fiji and a 42–0 loss to England. Across those three fixtures, Ireland scored 14 points and conceded 124. Australia’s victory secured first place in the group and a quarter-final against the United States. (Ireland’s group results; Australia’s quarter-final progression)
For the wider tournament record, see our Rugby League World Cup winners history.