Tonga's victory over England sent an early warning to the rest of the World Cup, while England looked badly off the pace in a must-win game.
England now need Tonga to beat Samoa to have a chance of advancing. A Samoan win would send Samoa through with three victories, while Tonga would finish with two and progress ahead of England on head-to-head. If Tonga win, England need a superior points differential.
The Kiwis dominated the Kangaroos for much of Thursday's match and could have led 18-0 at halftime, but Australia came back to win.
Australia's slow start may reflect their limited finals experience: only Jack Bostock, Latrell Mitchell, Liam Martin and Isaah Yeo had played finals, compared with 11 Kiwis.
Reece Walsh excelled, scoring a brilliant try and making a crucial try-saving tackle, despite social-media criticism. His poor dropout and double movement were outweighed by his strong performance, in the writer's view.
The Cook Islands-Fiji pre-match ceremony stood out, and the writer expects Tonga-Samoa to be a tournament highlight, with a crowd of more than 60,000 possible at Accor Stadium.