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SYDNEY - Winger Pat Richards scored three tries and kicked five goals as Ireland upset Samoa 36-14 last night to reach the knockout stage of the rugby league World Cup.
Ireland topped Pool 3 - edging Tonga and Samoa on points differential - and will meet Fiji on Monday for the right to play defending champions Australia in the semifinals.
Fiji finished atop Pool 2 despite an 18-16 loss to Scotland in the following game. Scotland edged France for second spot in the group.
Ireland, which lost 22-20 in its opening match to Tonga, needed to win by five points to advance and started confidently, racing to a 14-10 lead at Parramatta Stadium after absorbing pressure from Samoa in the opening 10 minutes.
Samoa rallied to get within two points before half time but Ireland scored the next 16 points to close out the match.
Richards' 22-point haul eclipsed the Irish record by eight points for a World Cup match. The former Wests Tigers NRL premiership player achieved the mark despite missing five kicks at goal.
Samoa had been favoured to advance after beating Pacific islands rival Tonga 20-12 in its opening match last Friday.
Ireland coach Andy Kelly predicted there was more to come from his team.
"We learnt the lesson from the Tongan game and tonight we came out a little bit stronger and a little bit wiser," Kelly said. "It was a smashing effort."
Richards grew up near Parramatta and had a good feel for the Australian conditions.
"I've never played for Ireland before, but I'm really enjoying it," Richards said. "Being part of the squad is very special. We're very tight knit and that helped."
Scotland coach Steve McCormack was thrilled with his lineup's late comeback win over Fiji.
"We were described as minnows and no chance and we took that personally," McCormack said. "We have created a little bit of history tonight with Scotland's first ever win at a World Cup.
"We did it tough but I could not be a prouder coach."
Fiji captain Wes Naiqama said the short turnaround from its win over France made it difficult, but the loss was still a major disappointment.
"But saying that our short-term goal was to finish top of the pool and we were successful in that," he said.
Wakefield prop Oliver Wilkes barged over in the 76th minute to level the scores before captain Danny Brough landed the conversion to seal Scotland's two-point win.
Scotland led 12-4 at halftime but fell behind when Fiji lock Jason Bukuya scored in the 43rd minute and winger Semi Tadulala crossed in the 73rd.
Wilkes' try came after Scotland won back the ball from a short kick re-start.
In weekend Pool 1 matches, No 1 Australia takes on the winless Papua New Guinea and England plays New Zealand for second place in the group.
- AP