England beat Papua New Guinea but World Cup hopes hinge on Tonga rout

England beat Papua New Guinea 34-12 at the Rugby League World Cup but remain in danger of missing the semi-finals after failing to build the winning margin they needed. According to BBC Sport's match report, England can now progress only if Tonga defeat Samoa by more than 46 points. Their own group campaign is complete, leaving qualification dependent on that result.

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An opening defeat by Tonga had made the size of England's subsequent victories crucial. They responded by beating France 82-0, then went into the Papua New Guinea game needing to close a 68-point deficit on Samoa. Another win was therefore only part of the task: England also needed to keep scoring heavily to improve their position in the race for the last four.

The opening stages suggested they could do so. Matty Ashton, AJ Brimson, Dominic Young and Harry Smith scored tries as England established a 22-0 lead after 22 minutes. They reached half-time 24-0 ahead, having kept Papua New Guinea scoreless while putting themselves in position to pursue a much larger victory after the interval.

That early control did not last. BBC Sport reported that repeated handling mistakes and penalties gave Papua New Guinea opportunities to recover, despite England coach Brian McDermott having stressed patience before the match. Dudley Dotoi and Gairo Voro scored the Kumuls' tries, with Martin adding two goals, as England's opponents reduced the damage rather than allowing the first-half pattern to continue.

Morgan Knowles and Mikey Lewis added England's second-half tries, but those scores could not restore the momentum of the opening quarter. Herbie Farnworth was stripped of possession while running towards the try line shortly before Lewis scored. England finished with 21 errors and a completion rate of just 57%, figures that underlined how frequently their attempts to increase the margin broke down.

The final margin was 22 points, leaving England with a demanding qualification condition rather than a confirmed exit. BBC Sport noted that Tonga lost 34-6 to Samoa in Brisbane 12 months ago and have not beaten their neighbours since 2018. England must now rely on Tonga not merely reversing that recent result, but winning by the substantial margin required to keep their tournament alive.