Pakistan · World · Independent Digital Newsroom
But they still require a lot of work and a pinch of luck to reach the semi-finals.England needed this margin of victory following their 30-12 defeat by Tonga last SaturdayThey must do the same against Papua New Guinea in Wollongong on Friday – then hope Tonga beat Samoa next Sunday.After a nervy opening quarter, in which England looked weighed down by expectations and permutations, they finally got going with three….
Come full time, Dom Young also bagged a treble and England had 14.Dom Young (centre) scored England's opening try after a scoreless first quarterAfter 23 minutes, England found their breakthrough as captain George Williams – overwhelmed by Tonga last week and initially nervy here – broke the line before a clever behind-the-back pass set up Young to score in the corner.England had, belatedly, arrived at this World Cup as a….
Soon after, full-back AJ Brimson – whose direct runs pierced France time and again – led a breakaway before finding Matty Ashton.The wing had knocked on over the try line early on to spill a seemingly certain England opener, but made no mistake here for his seventh try in six Tests.Harry Smith spotted the gap before setting up Farnworth for his first try on 27 minutes.
And after a period of defence against a France side – who threatened sporadically but made too many simple mistakes – Farnworth scored again nine minutes later.Williams powered over under the posts for 30-0, and then came England's best move of the World Cup just before the break – slick through the hands to the right before Young set Farnworth back in for his third.Eight minutes after the break, Young….
Another Brimson surge led the way for try number 10, scored by Mikey Lewis.A dreadful short kick-off was caught by Young, who raced through for his hat-trick.
Jack Welsby got on the act for try 12, a third score in four minutes, as the French surrendered.The 13th try – scored by Lewis who broke through two weak tackles – ensured England surpassed Samoa's 74-point winning margin against the French.After a frustrating few minutes where they had to defend deep for their clean sheet, England finally reached 80 as Brimson scored a deserved try.Hugo Savala was also a….
He only missed one goal from 14 attempts, adding 26 points.England are far from perfect.
They made six errors in the opening 20 minutes – and a better side than France, who haven't reached the semi-finals since 1992, would have taken advantage.But it all comes down to points on the scoreboard – and England must hope they have enough.After Samoa thrashed Papua New Guinea 62-6 earlier, England were a massive 150 behind the Samoans on points difference – which, if Tonga beat Samoa next weekend,….
England beat France 82-0 to maintain their hopes of reaching the Men's Rugby League World Cup semi-finals.
