England win 34-12 over Papua New Guinea but still need a Tonga miracle for World Cup semis

A chaotic win in Wollongong

England beat Papua New Guinea 34-12 in Wollongong in their final pool game at the Rugby League World Cup, but the margin fell well short of what they needed. Matty Ashton opened the scoring in the sixth minute, and AJ Brimson crossed five minutes later. England's running game initially overwhelmed the Papua New Guinea defence, with George Williams setting up a try for Dom Young before Harry Smith added another. Four unanswered tries gave England a 22-0 lead inside the first 22 minutes, and they went into the interval 24-0 ahead.

Errors undo a strong start

England's momentum stalled after the break, and the game turned on repeated mistakes. Head coach Brian McDermott had urged his players to be patient in the build-up, but England kept losing possession and conceding penalties. That restored belief in the Papua New Guinea ranks, and Dudley Dotoi and Gairo Voro both crossed for the Kumuls. England made 21 errors and finished with a 57% completion rate. Centre Herbie Farnworth was stripped of the ball running towards the try line moments before Mikey Lewis added a try, after Morgan Knowles had crossed in the second half.

What England now need

England's semi-final hopes depend on Tonga beating Samoa in Sydney on Sunday, 1 November, by more than 46 points. England entered the final round 68 points worse off than Samoa and could reduce that gap by only 22 points with their win over Papua New Guinea. Head-to-head is the first tiebreaker in the pool table, and England have already lost to Tonga. Tonga have not beaten Samoa since 2018 and lost 34-6 to them in Brisbane twelve months ago, a record Kristian Woolf's side will need to overturn in a single game. England are out if Samoa avoid defeat, and in 16 previous men's tournaments England or Great Britain have never finished outside the top four.

Semi-finals without England

For the first time in World Cup history, the semi-finals will take place without England. The men's and women's sides were effectively eliminated within hours of each other on the same day. Australia have already secured a semi-final place as top seed after wins over New Zealand and Fiji. New Zealand will join them if they beat Fiji on the Gold Coast on Saturday, 31 October. The final will be held in Brisbane on 15 November.