Rugby League World Cup: Ireland 48-2 Jamaica - Wolfhounds score 10 tries in emphatic win

Ireland won their Rugby League World Cup opener with a 10-try victory over debutants Jamaica at Headingley.

Louis Senior, captain George King, Brendan O'Hagan and Ed Chamberlain scored first-half tries for Ireland.

Louis' twin brother Innes and Toby King scored before Louis Senior with his second, James McDonnell, James Bentley and Frankie Halton rounded out the win.

Kieran Rush kicked a historic penalty for Jamaica as they scored their first points on the world stage.

The World Cup opener was Ireland's first competitive match since November 2019 while Jamaica made their first appearance at a World Cup in only their 25th international.

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• Fixtures, results and BBC coverage times

Ireland scored four first-half tries to build a comfortable lead

Jamaica started brightly and almost grabbed the opening try when Rush kicked through and Ireland wing Louis Senior hesitated, however Jacob Ogden could not get the crucial touch to ground the ball.

Senior was involved again moments later when he was denied in the corner by a brilliant try-saving tackle by Alex Young - brother of England wing Dominic.

However, Louis Senior crossed in the 13th minute to get Ireland on the board when he rounded off some slick hands following a scrum deep in the Jamaican half.

If the first try involved some soft hands, Ireland's second involved raw power as skipper King carried three Jamaican shirts over the line to ground.

O'Hagan was the next to cross in a clinical seven-minute spell to extend Ireland's lead, and Chamberlain added his first points from the tee.

Jamaica finally made some inroads into the Irish half but the green defence stood firm. However, Ireland's fourth try came when Chamberlain raced onto Luke Keary's pass to race clear and touch down. The Leigh centre then hit the post for the second time with his kick.

Rush kicked Jamaica's first-ever World Cup points with the final kick of the half to reduce the arrears to 16.

Louis Senior scored two tries for Ireland

Senior twins celebrate tries

The Irish pressure continued after the restart as Chamberlain squandered a chance with a handling error as he closed on the Jamaican line.

Jamaica managed to build a period of sustained pressure but failed to dent the scoreline, while Ireland showed their class to add a fifth when Innes Senior cruised over in the corner.

King scored the try of the match when he collected Harry Rushton's improvised kick to score Ireland's sixth try.

Young produced another superb tackle to deny Josh Cook as he looked to sprint under the posts but Ireland were not to be denied when Chamberlain found Louis Senior and the wing darted over for his second of the night with 14 minutes to play.

McDonnell took advantage of some tired Jamaican defending to work his way over the line and Bentley showed persistence to steam over with four minutes to play.

Halton grabbed Ireland's 10th try in the final play of the match as Ireland cruised to victory ahead of their second Group C game against Lebanon on Friday.

New Zealand take on Lebanon in their Group C opener later on Sunday, with kick-off at 19:30 BST.

Jamaica: Golding, B Jones-Bishop, Agoro, Johnson, Ogden, Young, Woodburn-Hall, Rush, Brown, Wallace, Bailey, Lawrence, Golding, Andrade.

Interchanges: Tomlinson, A Jones-Bishop, Ho, Peltier.

Ireland: Meyler, L Senior, Chamberlain, T King, I Senior, Keyes, Keary, G King, Halton, Bentley, Jolliffe, Cook, Byrne.

Interchanges: McDonnell, Rushton, O'Hagan, Hasson.

Referee: Benjamin Casty (Fra)