Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of England’s final group outing of the Rugby League World Cup as they tackle Papua New Guinea in Wollongong. Last time out, England avenged their 30-12 defeat to Tonga with a resounding 82-0 victory over France to keep their slim hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive.
For Brian McDermott’s side to guarantee their progression from the group, they need to beat PNG by at least 68 points and pray that Tonga overcome Samoa. Less than 68 and they’ll need an even bigger favour from Tonga, who would need to defeat Samoa by a massive sum to help England reduce their eye-watering points deficit.
If Samoa win, England will be eliminated, given their inferior head-to-head record against Tonga. Samoa and Tonga don’t play each other until Sunday, so, for the time being, England must fully concentrate on themselves and their side of the bargain. Ahead of this must-win fixture against PNG, Mikey Lewis, who scored two late tries in the France thrashing off the bench, said: “We just have to go out and do what we have planned.
It will be a tough game, but we have the strike and desire. We have a fighting chance, we believe in that. So, we just have to put the hard work in.
It is a unique position, so just enjoy that.” Lewis’ impressive cameo sees him earn another place on the bench, while Morgan Knowles is poised for his first appearance of the tournament after missing the previous two matches through injury, and he’ll replace Victor Radley. Jez Litten and Morgan Knowles have been brought in to start, while Matty Ashton also begins the contest.
Brad O’Neill, Kallum Watkins and Zach Eckersley are among the interchanges. Unsurprisingly, Dom Young and Herbie Farnworth, who both scored hat-tricks against France, as well as the irrepressible AJ Brimson, all start and will be expected to lead England’s attacking charge in a game where every point matters.
Kick-off for this crucial Pool B+C clash is at 9:05 GMT, with team news following now.
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