Brutal reality as England’s World Cup hopes all-but dashed after one game
England coach Brian McDermott has shut down talk of his side needing to rack up massive scorelines in their next two games, as a brutal Rugby League World Cup reality sets in after Saturday night’s disappointing loss to Tonga.
Despite some promising signs in the first half, England were outclassed 30-12 in Perth and are now facing an uphill battle to make the semi finals.
Tonga celebrate a try against England. Getty Images
Due to the tournament structure, which will see the top two teams from the combined Pool B and C advance, England are now relying on a huge swing in points differential or a major upset to book a spot in the knockout stage.
Samoa’s emphatic 78-4 victory over France and their looming clash with Papua New Guinea, which they are expected to win, should see Ben Gardiner’s side go through, while Tonga are in the box-seat for the other spot with games against Lebanon and Samoa still to come in the tournament.
Speaking to media post-game, McDermott lamented the errors from his side, which largely came when England were trying to chase points, saying they became “overzealous” and “lacked concentration” at different stages.
But asked if he would instruct the England squad to try and blow France and PNG off the park in their next two matches with an eye towards the semis, McDermott said that would be “disrespectful” to their opposition.
“It’s a bit ironic – I’ve just been saying about not chasing points and not chasing scoreboards, so we’re certainly not gonna chip ourselves up,” he said.
“I don’t know, it’s gonna be tremendously disrespectful to either France or PNG to suggest we’re gonna rack a load of points up while we’re sat here right now.
“We know what’s in front of us now, we’ve got to win the next two games. We’ve got to improve on the things we need to improve upon, but I’ve seen enough tonight which is telling me that we’re heading in the right direction.
“When you can identify when you’ve lost and it’s not to do with being physically or strategically outdone, it gives me a tremendous amount of confidence.”
McDermott, who also works as an assistant coach at the Gold Coast Titans, was then asked if England needed to play with more freedom over the next fortnight.
“Nah not really - you cannot play with freedom, not at international level,” he said.
“We’re not gonna chip ourselves up trying to come up with a plan about scoring 50 points next week.”
The rise of Tonga and Samoa has been largely beneficial for the game, but it has placed England in a new-found position after years of being among the top two or three playing nations with Australia and New Zealand.
McDermott wouldn’t get drawn into a discussion about where England, who remain a tier-one country, now sit on the international stage.
Victor Radley. Getty
“It’s great for the international game, but we’re not gonna open a can of worms about England’s position on the international scene,” he said.
“All we can do right here, right now is go out and put a ton of effort.”
England will face France next Saturday night in Perth, before a final group stage game against the Kumuls on October 30 in Wollongong.
