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‘I’m not ready to go home’: Wallaroos star’s rallying cry at World Cup
By Finn Morton reporting from Bristol
In three rounds of pool play, Australia did enough to secure their place in the quarter-finals at the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup. While many will pin the ‘underdogs’ tag on the Wallaroos before facing Canada, there’s still genuine belief within the group.
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At just 20 years of age, Faitala Moleka has already played 25 Test matches in Wallaroos gold, reaching that mark in Saturday’s 47-7 loss to England in Brighton. That result was enough to secure Australia’s spot in the quarters, while the USA missed out on points differential.
With the USA defeating Samoa 60-0 in York, the Australians had to avoid a significant loss of 75 points to progress. Adiana Talakai helped give the Wallaroos an early lead before the Red Roses eventually took control on the scoreboard deep into the first half.
Australia will face one of their Pacific Four rivals in Bristol, with Canada going through Pool B unbeaten. Canada are the second-best team in women’s international rugby according to World Rugby’s rankings, and they’ve got a winning history over the Aussies as well.
In Pac Four, Canada secured a dominant 45-7 win over the Wallaroos at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on May 23. Yet the belief within the Australian squad remains strong, with young playmaker Moleka speaking at a press conference in Bristol on Tuesday.
“When I got my 25th cap I said something in my thank you speech, I said, ‘I’m not ready to go home’ and in that first half performance against England, that just shows how much determination the girls had,” Moleka told reporters.
“They’ve worked so hard throughout these three years. Although the World Cup was this year, the girls have been working for years to get to this place right now.
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“We were expected, not by ourselves but the external people that we’d make the quarter-finals but we’re not settling here. We want to get to the final but in order for us to get to the final, we have to really focus on the challenges ahead this week against Canada.”
With more than 30,000 fans watching on at Brighton & Hove Albion Stadium, Australia really challenges England during the first 30 minutes in particular. While the Red Roses eventually took the lead in the 31st minute, the Wallaroos never stopped fighting.
Sarah Bern scored England’s final try of the pool stage showdown in the 64th minute, with the world’s top-ranked women’s side going scoreless for the final 16. For some, if not all of the Australian players, it was the largest crowd they’d ever played in front of.
“To walk out with a sold-out stadium, we ask for these moments and I’m so grateful that I live in a time where I get to experience that first hand where so many people come to watch us play,” Moleka reflected.
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“To experience that kind of atmosphere, I was calling the plays 50,000 times before it was even run because there’s so much noise around.
“It was so surreal. It’s a different kind of pressure but I love that pressure because there’s nothing else I’d love to do other than play rugby at a sold-out stadium.”
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