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England Crush France 82-0 in Perth to Keep Rugby League World Cup Hopes Alive
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England defeated France 82-0 in Perth, 14-tries to 1. Herbie Farnworth and Dominic Young each scored hat-tricks.
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England’s 82-0 surge
England crushed France 82-0 in Perth to keep their Rugby League World Cup semi-final hopes alive after a 30-12 defeat to Tonga in their tournament opener. Herbie Farnworth scored a first-half hat-trick and Dominic Young also scored three tries as England thumped France 14 tries to one. England entered Saturday’s match knowing they needed a win in the vicinity of 80-plus points, and the BBC said England had six converted tries by half-time.
England then extended their lead beyond 80 points, with the BBC noting Dom Young “also bagged a treble” as England finished with 14 tries. England’s coach Brian McDermott said, “What we’ve done today is enormous; given the context, I think it’s just enormous,” as the result set up a do-or-die next match against Papua New Guinea.
Qualification scenarios
England’s points differential situation left them needing “a pinch of luck” even after the 82-0 win, and it described England as needing a massive margin to keep their dreams alive.
Samoa’s plus-132 points differential after Samoa’s 64-6 win over Papua New Guinea and Samoa’s 78-4 win over France framed the qualification math.
England’s hopes rest on Tonga beating Samoa, and England would need to beat Papua New Guinea by a considerable margin before waiting 48 hours for the outcome of Tonga vs Samoa in Sydney.
England must also rely on Tonga beating Samoa next Sunday, and it described the points differential between England and Samoa as the deciding factor if those results fall into place.
France captain Benjamin Garcia said, “It’s just not good enough. We just have to keep working and come back,” after England’s record winning margin left France without a semi-final berth.
What comes next
England will face Papua New Guinea in their final pool stage match after the 82-0 win, and the AFP report said the next clash is “a do-or-die” against Papua New Guinea in Wollongong. England must also rely on Tonga beating Samoa next Sunday, and the BBC described the points differential between England and Samoa as the deciding factor if those results fall into place. England need a favour from Tonga against Samoa, and it warned that “Should the Samoans win, England are going home.”
“Should the Samoans win, England are going home.”
England also tied the stakes to a specific margin scenario, saying England would need to beat Papua New Guinea by a margin of 68 points in Wollongong if they want to keep qualification possible. England’s record-setting win left the semi-final picture unresolved, but McDermott insisted, “We knew we had to win big and we’ve done it without getting distracted,” as the tournament’s combined table permutations move to the final round.
