It’s a rare instance where an 82-point victory still might not be enough to keep England in the 2026 World Cup. But after two matches, following their loss to Tonga in their opener, England sit in third place behind Tonga and Samoa.
Only the top two teams will go through to the semi-final stage from their pool in this abbreviated tournament, and after Toa Samoa thrashed Papua New Guinea 64-6 in Port Moresby, points difference is not on Brian McDermott and his men’s side.
Now England must not only beat the Kumuls in Wollongong by more than 68 points, but hope that Tonga also defeats their Pacific neighbours in Parramatta. If Samoa win instead, all three countries will be on the same number of points and England will be eliminated because of their head-to-head result against the Tongans in round one. The odds are clearly not in England’s favour.
And 23 minutes into the clash with les Chanticleers in the West Australian capital, luck didn’t appear to be on their side either. France haven’t beaten England or Great Britain since 1990 and no upset was expected here. The French were beaten 78-4 by Samoa last weekend and the best they could hope for was keeping the score down.
However, France started strongly at HBF Park and England struggled early. They made errors, forced passes and gave away penalties in a nervous opening. It looked like the pressure to post a big score had stifled England.
All that changed after Dom Young touched down, off a smart George Williams’ pass in the 23rd minute, to break the deadlock. The floodgates quickly opened and England notched try after try, after try in stunning fashion. At half-time it was 36-0 and another 46 points flowed in the second, try-laden 40 minutes.
Winger Young finished with a hat-trick, as did centre Herbie Farnworth. Fullback AJ Brimson was electric at fullback, rightfully winning the man of the match award, while halves Williams and Harry Smith took the line on and created chance after chance. It was in stark contrast to the match with Tonga seven days earlier.
France were completely outclassed and dominated, in another embarrassing fixture for les Chanticleers. The struggles of England can be debated, particularly against the Kangaroos, but the decline of French rugby league, once a powerhouse in the international game, cannot be questioned. It is a stone-cold fact.
England coach McDermott described his team as being “white-hot” in the Perth sunshine.
“The players deserve a ton of credit,” he said. “France got beat by a big score last week as well, so we knew their changeroom would have been determined. They came out of the blocks and they had a real sense of determination about them. I think we played a little bit jittery again, but we remained patient and composed.
“We’re building something here. There was a little bit on show today and certainly the tries we scored before half-time are what we were chasing. You could see how good some of that is going to be. I think it’s really positive if this group is together for a process or a long build-up to a tournament; we could achieve some special things. But over a short space of time, it’s been incredible.”
Eighty-two points in 57 minutes is no mean feat, regardless of the opposition. England have done exactly what they needed to do, held up their end of the bargain, but unfortunately it still might not be enough. They need the rugby league gods to smile on them both in Wollongong and for Tonga at CommBank Stadium.
“What we’ve done today is enormous, given the context,” McDermott insisted.
“So we’ve got to win big. And any coach will tell you that nobody thinks like that. Whatever the results are next week, we’ll finish strong against Papua New Guinea as well, and if that means we’re going home as well then next Sunday night, then that will be a big disappointment to us. But, I’m not sure what more we could have done.”
The last time England met the Kumuls was in the quarter-finals of the 2021 World Cup, where the hosts prevailed 46-6 in Wigan. But most judges would offer that Papua New Guinea are a stronger side than they were four years ago, with a more experienced coach in London Broncos boss Jason Demetriou as well.
“The situation we’ve found ourselves in is different and difficult,” England captain George Williams admitted. “But I think we’ve managed it really well and given ourselves half a chance.”
Read more
Half a chance is the key message. If Tonga prevail against Samoa, it becomes completely redundant what England do against the Kumuls. Some may complain about the controversial tournament format, and about the amount of lengthy travel to Australia, and they are legitimate concerns.
But Tonga have been given a tougher draw than England, and McDermott and his charges have had the benefit of being based in Australia’s most British city for a fortnight, and also get to play Papua New Guinea in NSW, not Port Moresby in front of fanatical locals. Those are clear advantages.
Whatever happens next weekend, England are searching for four-leaf clovers, crossing their fingers and throwing salt. Lady Luck needs to smile on them; otherwise, a historic early exit awaits.