England and Samoa have qualified for the World Cup Nines semi-finals after Lebanon’s fairytale run turned into a farce at Bankwest Stadium.
Fresh from shocking England early in Saturday’s fixtures, Lebanon were told they were unable to field two players under the age of 18 in their must-win clash with Wales.
The news broke less than an hour before Lebanon took the field and they were heavily beaten 25-14 without one of their standout players, 17-year-old Jacob Kiraz.
Under NRL rules, players must be 18 to take the field but international laws dictate the minimum age is 16.
The Nines is an international event run by the NRL and it’s believed team management had been warned on Thursday the players were too young.
The match was also marred by an all-in brawl late, which saw Wales’ Daniel Fleming and Lebanon’s Travis Robinson sent from the field.
England then thumped France 38-4 to take top spot in the group and set up a likely semi-final showdown with Australia on Saturday night.
It was a cruel end to Lebanon’s run after they entered the tournament without their biggest names, following a boycott against the country’s board.
“We played everyone in the game that was over 18 and we weren’t good enough,” said Cedars coach Rick Stone.
“We were a little bit tired. We lacked a little bit of zip and energy in that game.”
Samoa secured their spot when they beat Pacific Island rivals Tonga 24-22, to set up a likely semi-final date with New Zealand.
England’s 16-13 loss to Lebanon wasn’t the only shock on day two.
Australia were forced to survive an early scare against the USA, falling 11-4 behind early in the first half before winning 41-11.
Nathan Brown scored two bonus tries while Kyle Feldt also bagged a double and Josh Addo-Carr was again electrifying on the left wing.
The only concern was a glute injury to Cronulla co-captain Wade Graham, who was forced from the field.
The result all but guaranteed Australia entry to the semi-finals ahead of their last group match against Papua New Guinea.
Fiji finished the tournament without a win, after being beaten 21-17 by Tonga through a Robert Jennings golden try before copping an upset 12-10 loss to the Cook Islands.
New Zealand were close to joining Fiji in exiting the tournament, they needed a last-minute Bailey Simmonsen try to pip PNG 18-17.
The Kiwis will progress to the finals alongside Australia in Pool A if they beat the USA and the Kangaroos topple PNG in the last group matches.
