World Cup Preview: Australia v Fiji

Australia will be looking to continue an unbeaten run that stretches back to the 2010 Four Nations final when they take on Fiji at Langtree Park, St Helens.

Both sides opened up the tournament with wins over England and Ireland respectively, and a win for either side would guarantee their place in the quarter-finals.

They met in the semi-finals at the last World Cup, with Australia coming away 52-0 winners. Jarryd Hayne, who started at full-back for Fiji in that match, will line-up on the wing for Australia, while Petero Civoniceva has gone the other way, now representing the nation of his birth.

Tim Sheens has rotated his squad, which means Manly half-back Daly Cherry-Evans come in at seven, and a rest for Billy Slater, with Greg Inglis switching from centre to full-back.

This is the fourth consecutive World Cup that these two sides have come up against each other, with Fiji registering just eight points and being nilled twice in that time. Hat-tricks from Brett Dallas and Robbie O’Davis, plus nine goals by Andrew Johns, helped the Kangaroos to a 66-0 win at Huddersfield in 1995, before a 66-8 victory at Gateshead five years later.

Verdict: Anything other than a comfortable Australian victory will be a big surprise – Kangaroos win.

Australia squad: Greg Inglis (Souths), Jarryd Hayne (Parramatta), Josh Morris (Canterbury), Michael Jennings (Sydney), Darius Boyd (Newcastle), Johnathan Thurston (North Queensland), Daly Cherry-Evans (Manly), Matthew Scott (North Queensland), Cameron Smith (Melbourne), James Tamou (North Queensland), Luke Lewis (Cronulla), Josh Papalii (Canberra), Nate Myles (Gold Coast), Boyd Cordner (Sydney). Interchanges (from): Robbie Farah (Wests), Andrew Fifita (Cronulla), Paul Gallen (Cronulla), Cooper Cronk (Melbourne), Corey Parker (Brisbane).

Fiji squad: Petero Civoniceva (Redcliffe), Jason Bukuya (Cronulla), Kane Evans (canterbury), Aaron Groom (North Sydney), Marika Koroibete (Wests), Apisai Koroisau (Souths), Daryl Millard (Catalan), Kevin Naiqama (Newcastle), Wes Naiqama (Penrith), Alipate Tani (Fassifern), Vitale Roqica (Cronulla), Ashton Sims (North Queensland), Korbin Sims (Newcastle), Tariq Sims (North Queensland), James Storer (Collegians), Akuila Uate (Newcastle), Eloni Vunakece (Toulouse), Sisa Waqa (Melbourne), Semi Radradra (Parramatta).