England thump France to all but secure place in quarters

Shaun Wane’s England have picked up two wins from two at the Rugby League World Cup, sitting comfortably atop Group A with a healthy +78 points difference.

This comes as a result of their dismantling of France yesterday, as they eased to a 42-18 victory over their rivals in Bolton, with tries from Ryan Hall, Luke Thompson, Elliot Whitehead, Victor Radley, and Dominic Young all but ensuring their safe passage through to the next round of the tournament.

England started brilliantly in this game, with Hall continuing his fantastic record for the national side, scoring two in the first 11 minutes of the tie, before Thompson chimed in with a third.

France seemed determined to fight back, having endured a difficult opening period. And fight back they did, as both Arthur Mourgue and Eloi Pelissier scored tries to reduce the deficit to 18-12, making England sweat ahead of half-time.

But as play resumed, England emerged the dominant side once more, with Whitehead and Radley both restoring the hosts’ lead.

With a few more games under their belt, there is no reason this team can’t give the big boys like New Zealand and Australia a run for their money in this tournament

Dominic Young was on hand to score his first in the 56th minute of the game, finishing a slick team move to make it 34-12, before securing a brace ten minutes later by intercepting a pass before running the length of the pitch alone to complete his side’s scoring.

Arthur Romano scored late on for France to make the scoreline somewhat respectable for his team, but it was never to be anything more than a consolation after a very strong England display.

This was England’s 21st consecutive victory against the French, having not lost to their opponents across the Channel for 41 years, giving this fixture a sense of inevitability, but Wane’s men were impressive all the same.

France’s short-lived comeback in the first period would have raised some concerns for the England coach, though – they were sloppy on more than one occasion, and nearly gave the opposition a route back into the game were it not for their undeniable attacking quality.

It would take a minor miracle to prevent England advancing to the quarter finals as group winners, with World Cup debutants Greece next up to complete the group stage. Some have suggested that England’s (albeit, few) errors against France would have cost them dearly against tougher opposition, but with a few more games under their belt, there is no reason this team can’t give the big boys like New Zealand and Australia a run for their money in this tournament.

Samoa will be looking to secure their first victory of the tournament today, Sunday 23 October, against Greece, before the group finishes up next weekend with Samoa and France clashing in seven days’ time.