England urges patience in PNG quest to save World Cup hopes

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 29 Oct, 11:33 · Archive

England must beat Papua New Guinea and rely on other results to reach the Rugby League World Cup semi-finals for the first time.

England face Papua New Guinea in Wollongong on Friday in their final pool game, needing a convincing victory to maintain slim hopes of reaching the semi-finals. England lost 30-12 to Tonga in their opening match but recovered to beat France 82-0 in their second game.

To progress, England require two things to go their way. They need to beat Papua New Guinea by a large margin and must also have Tonga defeat Samoa on Sunday. Additionally, they need to overturn a 68-point points difference deficit against Samoa. England have never previously failed to reach the World Cup knockout stages.

Boss Brian McDermott has emphasised the importance of patience and discipline in their approach. He warned against searching for early tries and stressed the need to establish physical dominance first. McDermott said: 'We've got to get to the physicality first and we're going to manage a very physical team, a very dominant team.' He noted that against France, England were scoreless for the first 22 minutes but then scored heavily in the second period to record their biggest-ever margin of victory over France.

How it is being reported

• England urged to hold nerve as Rugby League World Cup hopes hang by a threadEngland need 68-point swing in final group games McDermott: ‘It’s a difficult situation to negotiate’ 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…Guardian Sport · 29 Oct, 13:07
• McDermott: England face 'unique task' to progress and can't get distractedBrian McDermott has warned his England side not to chase the points as they look to keep their slim Rugby League World Cup hopes alive with a big win against Papua New Guinea.Sky Sports · 29 Oct, 11:00
• England boss McDermott urges patience in PNG points chaseEngland boss Brian McDermott has urged his players not to panic as they chase points against Papua New Guinea in Wollongong on Friday in a bid to keep alive their Rugby League World Cup hopes.BBC News · 29 Oct, 10:57

In this story: England · Papua New Guinea · Brian McDermott · Samoa · Tonga · France · Wollongong

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