AUSTRALIA have ruled halfback Mitchell Moses out of the remainder of the World Cup – but New Zealand remain hopeful their star fullback Kalyn Ponga can make a recovery from a broken arm.

In a brutal opening match of the tournament on Thursday, which the Kangaroos edged 24-22, Moses suffered a high-grade calf muscle tear during the first half and came off shortly after half-time.

Ethan Strange has been called up to Kevin Walters’ squad in Moses’ place, joining Cameron Munster, Tom Dearden – who came off the bench in Sydney – and Sam Walker as halfback options ahead of Sunday’s clash with Fiji in Brisbane.

“Mitch made a wonderful contribution to our World Cup preparations during the camp in Sydney and very bravely tried to play through the injury until he eventually had to come from the field on Thursday night,” said Kevin Walters.

“He is naturally disappointed at the outcome today and the fact that he tried to stay out there when he was clearly injured shows just what it means to him to represent his country and play in the Kangaroos jersey. We wish Mitch all the best with his recovery.”

Ponga, on his Kiwis debut, suffered his injury early in the second half and also played on – even scoring an excellent try – before finally succumbing.

He underwent surgery on Friday and will remain in the New Zealand camp in an attempt to defy the odds by participating in the knockout rounds.

“He played about 20 minutes with the injury and toughed it out,” said coach Stacey Jones, whose side welcome the Cook Islands to Christchurch on Sunday.

“We dominated so many areas of that game and he was a beneficiary of that. Playing behind this forward pack, he seemed really comfortable.”