A nervy start gives way to a 14-try landslide
England stayed in contention for a Rugby League World Cup semi-final by overwhelming France 82-0 in Perth, a result that trimmed the points gap they had been chasing. Herbie Farnworth and Dom Young each crossed three times, and Mikey Lewis added two more after coming off the bench. Matty Ashton, George Williams, Victor Radley, Jez Litten, Jack Welsby and AJ Brimson also scored, while Hugo Savala kicked 26 points.[S1][S2]
France held firm for much of the opening quarter, keeping England scoreless until the 23rd minute, when Williams broke through and fed Young with a one-handed pass. From there the resistance collapsed: England ran in six tries across the last 17 minutes of the first half, three of them from Farnworth, and went to the interval 36-0 ahead. Farnworth's standout effort came when he spun past several defenders to ground the ball.[S1][S2]
The scoring continued after the break. Young completed his hat-trick on 62 minutes, helped by France's habit of kicking short from restarts, and Brimson touched down with three minutes left to round off a performance that earned him man of the match. Brimson finished with a try, three assists and five line breaks, while Junior Nsemba and Kai Pearce-Paul repeatedly carried strongly and offloaded in contact.[S1]
Why the margin still may not be enough
England came into the match needing to make up ground after Samoa's heavy win over Papua New Guinea earlier on Saturday left them facing a 150-point deficit. The 82-0 result, England's second-largest victory at a Rugby League World Cup, cut deeply into that gap but did not erase it. Only two of the six teams in Pools B and C advance to the final four of the 10-nation tournament.[S1][S2]
England's final pool fixture is against Papua New Guinea in Wollongong on Friday, and both sides hold a 1-1 record. England must win convincingly, then wait for Tonga, who are unbeaten, to beat Samoa on November 1. The win was England's first under head coach Brian McDermott, whose side had opened the tournament with a 30-12 loss to Tonga, and their 24th in a row against France.[S1][S2]
Reaction from Perth
Brimson described the result as his first win in an England shirt and acknowledged the disappointment of the previous week, saying the team had needed a strong display to give themselves a chance. He noted that the opening 20 minutes were a grind and credited the spine and halves for keeping the side calm.[S1]
McDermott said the achievement, given the circumstances, was enormous, explaining that his side had to win by a wide margin while avoiding distraction in pursuit of points. He said the week included candid conversations about what was required and that almost everything went according to the game model. He added that England want to finish strongly against Papua New Guinea regardless of other results.[S1]
England captain George Williams said he was proud of the response after the nerves of the previous week and was pleased the team finished strongly and scored points. France captain Benjamin Garcia said the performance was not good enough and that his side must keep working and return. France had earlier lost 78-4 to Samoa in their opening match.[S2]
