England suffered Rugby League World Cup opening game loss to Tonga; they now have to get a large win against France and then beat Papua New Guinea handsomely to keep slim hopes of progressing to the semi-finals alive; England play France on Saturday October 24 at 7.35am
Wednesday 21 October 2026 16:44, UK
England hooker Brad O'Neill says his side will resist the urge to go for broke when they face France in their second Rugby League World Cup match in Perth on Saturday.
An opening 30-12 defeat to Tonga has left their hopes of reaching the semi-finals hanging by a thread, with points difference looking increasingly like the only way to progress.
But head coach Brian McDermott has named an unchanged 19-man matchday squad, a sign that he does not plan radical changes against a France team smarting from their 78-4 humbling by Samoa.
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O'Neill, the newly-crowned Super League Man of Steel, said: "We have discussed what is required but I feel like the mentality can't be any different to what we had against Tonga.
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"We can't go into this game thinking about the points difference. We've got to go into this game hard-nosed like we did against Tonga, and hopefully if we do our jobs well enough we're going to get the win."
A complicated cross-group format has left England needing Tonga to beat Samoa in their final group game in a fortnight's time to stand any chance of reaching the last four - provided all the other games go to form.
That would take the final semi-final slot down to points difference between England and Samoa - and McDermott's men are already up against it given Samoa's stunning win over the Super League-laden French side.
"I feel like we play France in Super League most weeks with Catalans and Toulouse, so there will be some familiar faces," O'Neill added.
"We're expecting a great game at the weekend. France are coming off a loss, like us as well, so they are going to come out firing.
"But we're not changing anything about the way we play. It's more about working on the execution side of things that we didn't do so well against Tonga. As you'd expect, Saturday was very disappointing, but there is still a real belief in this team."
What's next?
England must regroup ahead of facing France in Perth next Saturday, kick-off 7.35am (UK and Ireland time). Meanwhile, England women face Australia at 10.05am.