England's Rugby League World Cup Hopes Fade in Wollongong
England's men beat Papua New Guinea 34-12 but probably not by enough to reach the semi-finals. The women lost 6-24 to Samoa and are out.
England's men beat Papua New Guinea 34-12 in Wollongong at the Rugby League World Cup. The win keeps a place in the semi-finals mathematically possible. It is probably not enough. The England women lost 6-24 to Samoa in Wollongong the same day and are out.
The men had to win and also erode a 68-point points-difference margin on Samoa. A 22-point win fell short. Unless Tonga produce what the report calls a "rugby league miracle" against Samoa on Sunday in Sydney, England will be heading home. Tonga's biggest winning margin in that rivalry is 32 points. It would be the first time England or Great Britain have missed the last four at a men's World Cup.
England started well, with tries from Matty Ashton, AJ Brimson, Dom Young and Harry Smith, and led 22-0 after 20 minutes. A score of 67 would have made any Tongan win on Sunday enough for England to go through. They then spurned at least three more chances before half-time and took another 50 minutes to score a fifth try. Papua New Guinea hit back with tries from Dudley Dotoi and Gairo Voro within five minutes of the restart, making it 24-12. Late tries from Morgan Knowles and Mikey Lewis completed the scoring. It was England's second win in three group games, after a defeat by Tonga on the opening weekend.
Women eliminated
The defeat means the England women fail to reach the final stages of a Rugby League World Cup for the first time. Samoa, whose squad is packed with NRLW players, will play in the semi-finals for the first time. Freedom Crichton Ropati scored a hat-trick, with the third try on the stroke of half-time. Mercedez Taulelei-Siala made it 16-0 after the break.
Evie Cousins scored England's only try after a break from Hollie-Mae Dodd. Fanua Rimoni added a late try for Samoa. England had lost 78-0 to Australia the previous week.
Coach Stuart Barrow took a young squad to Australia, with 11 of the group aged 23 or under. The NRLW is fully professional. England has only a handful of competitive teams, and none is professional.
Men's head coach Brian McDermott said after the match: "It feels like we've lost the game."
Source: The Guardian