The England head coach, Brian McDermott, has urged his side to keep their nerve as they attempt to hold up their end of the bargain on Friday and secure what would be a remarkable qualification for the semi-finals of the Rugby League World Cup.
Defeat by Tonga in their opening group game a fortnight ago appeared to all but consign England to an early exit, owing in no small part to a complex and shortened format, with the tournament reduced to 10 teams. However, the margin of their 82-0 win against France last Saturday means qualification is still possible, albeit unlikely.
They need to defeat Papua New Guinea in Wollongong and hope Tonga beat Samoa on Sunday, with a 68-point swing required in points difference between England and the Samoans. That essentially means McDermott’s side will once again have to pile on the points against a capable Kumuls side who will pose a sterner challenge than the French.
Quick Guide
England v Papua New Guinea: teams
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England Brimson; Young, Savala, Farnworth, Ashton; Williams, Smith; King, Litten, Thompson, Nsemba, Pearce-Paul, Knowles. Interchange Lewis, Walters, Havard, O’Neill, Eckersley, Watkins.
Papua New Guinea Laybutt; Derby, Feledy, Macdonald, Dotoi; Voro, Biondi-Odo; Kapinias, Horne, Moretti, Martin, Putt, Richard. Interchange Glare, Taulani, Mathias, Wabo, John, Tai.
McDermott described the circumstances and permutations as“remarkable” this week, knowing his side must win big to stand a chance of avoiding becoming the first England side in history to fail to reach the semi-finals of the tournament. But he warned his players not to be distracted by the unique task at hand and the need to score points.
“I don’t know how many coaches have been in this position before where they know they need to win by a big score,” he said. “It’s a difficult situation to negotiate because you don’t want to show any disrespect to the opposition. So to suggest we would want to score a lot of points, it sounds disrespectful.
“There’s a discipline in that we don’t start looking for things or searching for things outside of how we want to play. And that was a really impressive trick against France because we knew we had points in us and they weren’t coming for that first 20 minutes. We can’t get to the points first, we’ve got to get through the physicality.”
That patience will be key against a Papua New Guinea side who have a large contingent of England-based players. They were initially resolute against Samoa last week in Port Moresby, trailing 14-6 at half-time before imploding in the second half to lose 64-6. They, like England, need a huge victory to stand any chance of qualification.
But the spotlight is undoubtedly on England, who start as heavy favourites. In the pursuit of points, McDermott’s one significant team change sees the Hull KR hooker Jez Litten start in place of the reigning Man of Steel, Wigan’s Brad O’Neill, who drops down to the bench. Litten has provided a spark in both games so far and his dynamic attacking play will be key again.
“It’s more about the best fit for the gameplan,” McDermott said. “They all understand the concept of it being a squad effort. It’s not just a team effort. We’ve got a specific task against PNG and I think it’ll be a stiffer test than against France. And we find ourselves in a similar situation, because we don’t just need to beat them, we need to beat them convincingly.”
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McDermott’s expansive style which produced points aplenty last week will be key again, as will the performances of Mikey Lewis and the captain, George Williams. Lewis will start from the bench and look to stretch a tiring Kumuls side, while Williams has drawn praise from McDermott for his displays so far.
Both possess the running threat that could unlock the requisite scoreline England need to at least ensure Sunday morning’s game between Tonga and Samoa has meaning. “George was the guy who broke the game open for us last week against France,” McDermott said. “We faced a really determined France in that first 20 and George was the guy who ran.
“That’s why he’s in the team, he’s in the team because he’s the captain and because he’s a good player, but he’s also a runner. And he ran, and broke France’s defensive line down and opened it up for us a bit.”
Meanwhile the permutations for England’s women, who kick off earlier on Friday morning, are more straightforward. Beat Samoa, they and will be in the semi-finals – but defeat means they are going home. England’s wheelchair side begin the defence of their World Cup title against Wales in the early hours of Friday, with Tom Coyd’s side heavy favourites to go all the way once again.
