Jamaica has stolen the show by scoring two memorable tries in their final World Cup match against Lebanon, despite going down by their biggest margin in this tournament, 74-12 in Leigh this afternoon.
It was a great chance to show how far Jamaica have come in the last three weeks and they were hellbent on showing that they weren't here to make up the numbers. Their unpredictable short kickoff was recovered and were harshly adjudicated by the video referee on the next set of six. A clever kick from Kieran Rush found Kieran Tomlinson, but was ruled to have been held up, although the lack of replays in Leigh may have robbed the Reggae Warriors.
Unfortunately, you need to take your chances in this great game of rugby league and Jamaica was made to pay down their leaky edges. Mitch Moses shows and goes to break through the Jamaican left edge defence before finding Mikey Tannous who crossed for the opening try. Off a penalty, the Cedars were able to march right up field and Abbas Miski cut underneath a lovely pass from Khaled Rajab and it was ominous signs for Jamaica. Adam Doueihi burst through finding Elie El Zakhem and it was 18-0 after 13 minutes of play.
Lebanon added a fourth try on the ensuing set when Rajab split them open down the left and then unselfishly found the elder statesman in Reece Robinson who crossed for their fourth try in 15 minutes. Despite a brief Jamaican resistance, points were never far away. Doueihi was pulling the Lebanese attack in multiple directions and it wasn't long before he broke through again. He linked up with Rajab to cross for a well-deserved try.
Charbel Tasipale crossed for his first try after a break down the sideline from Miski and the score was becoming very very ugly. Off the ensuing set, Lebanon put it through the hands and Josh Mansour crashed over in the right corner. Jamaica had their chances in Lebanon's end but was incredibly unlucky to come up with no points and Lebanon had a 42-0 lead at the change of ends. Lebanon has a nervous wait leading into their quarter-final against Australia when Jaxson Rahme hit the Jamaican halfback with late and excessive force, if charged, Rahme could miss the QF.
Despite some early resistance and Mitch Moses receiving an early mark. Lebanon continued on their merry ways in the second half as Doueihi crashed over from short range. But, the second half did have a magic moment when a set play failed to fire for the Cedars and Jamaican winger Mo Agoro scooped it up to race away and cross for the Reggae Warriors second ever World Cup try and the margin was reduced to 40.
With Lebanon continuing to charge, there was little the Jamaican side could do but hang on for dear life. Eventually, the pressure took its toll and Tasipale crossed for his second try breaking through two would-be tackles and the Cedars hit the half-century. Jamaica was reduced to twelve men when Michael Lawrence was sin-binned for a professional foul and the Cedars didn't waste the extra man advantage.
Test debutant Tony Maroun capped the special milestone by crossing in the left corner. Two minutes later, James Woodburn-Hall's pass was intercepted by Mansour and the experienced winger raced away to cross for his second and bring up sixty points for the Cedars. Jamaica did what many thought was unthinkable and scored while being down to twelve men. Jy-Mel Coleman's grubber was played at, it was then kicked again by Joel Farrell and then he passed it to big Jorge Andrade who crashes over and Jamaica reduced the margin. It wasn't reduced for long as Doueihi's pass found Mansour on the chest to complete his hattrick with an acrobatic finish in the corner to lead by 56 points. Lebanon finished with a memorable try as Doueihi went for a chip and chase, he then kicked the ball back in play without going into touch and Miski won the race to score and bring up the 70-point mark.
Lebanon now has their toughest test, a quarter-final date with the World Champions in Australia on Saturday morning (AEDT time). While for Jamaica, they've captured our hearts and done their jersey and country proud, achieving things many didn't imagine would occur in the past three weeks. Hopefully, with sustained international football between now and the 2025 World Cup, the Reggae Warriors will be even stronger as they look to qualify for France 2025.