Australia's Jillaroos rewrote the rugby league record books in Sydney on Sunday, thrashing Wales 124-6 to reach the Women's Rugby League World Cup semi-finals. The defending champions ran in 21 tries at CommBank Stadium, led 60-0 at half-time, itself the biggest half-time score in any World Cup match, men's or women's, and never eased off. They will now face Fiji in next Sunday's semi-final at Allianz Stadium.

Chapman and Southwell star in the rout

Winger Jaime Chapman scored six tries, equalling the Jillaroos' single-game record, including a first-half hat-trick and a sixth in the final minute. Jess Sergis crossed four times, while five-eighth Jesse Southwell scored a try and kicked 20 of 21 conversions for a Jillaroos-record 44 individual points. The 124 points is the biggest score in international rugby league history, passing Denmark men's 122 against Sweden in 2012. The 118-point margin is the largest ever in a women's international, although France men's 120-point win over Serbia in 2003 remains the biggest margin overall.

A proud moment amid the mismatch for Wales

Wales, appearing at the tournament for the first time, had already lost heavily to England and Samoa, and this was their third heavy defeat. Yet they produced the day's most celebrated moment: at 100-0 down, Paige Travis became the first player to score against Australia in the tournament, racing onto a Tayla Preston kick. Australia finished the group stage with an aggregate score of 242-6 across three matches. They are now chasing a fourth successive world title, but the scale of this win will also renew debate about the gap between the champions and the rest of the women's game.