McDermott says England World Cup travel left players exhausted

England head coach Brian McDermott says a lengthy journey to Australia left his players exhausted and restricted preparations for their Rugby League World Cup opener. Speaking on Thursday, he described the disruption before last Saturday's 30-12 defeat by Tonga, which has left England needing results elsewhere to help their chances of reaching the semi-finals.

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According to BBC Sport, the UK-based members of the squad took almost 48 hours to reach their base in Perth. Their route began with a bus journey from northern England to London, followed by a flight to Singapore. Rather than continuing from Singapore to Perth on a flight of about five hours, they travelled for almost eight hours to Sydney before flying back across Australia to Western Australia.

McDermott said the effects lasted for around three days and forced him to shorten Monday's training session because players were still feeling the journey. England managed only two full training sessions before facing Tonga. The coach compared the trip to the disrupted journey in the comedy film Planes, Trains and Automobiles, while making clear that the travel had affected his squad's preparation.

BBC Sport reported that it understood International Rugby League, the governing body organising the tournament, had planned England's itinerary. The broadcaster said it had contacted the organisation for comment. England also went into the competition without a warm-up match; their previous game had been the third Ashes Test defeat by Australia at Headingley in November 2025. McDermott took over in April after Shaun Wane's departure.

England's qualification position is complicated by the tournament structure. Pools B and C feed into a combined six-team table, with only two semi-final places available. England are in Pool B but face the three Pool C teams: Tonga, France and Papua New Guinea. They must beat France on Saturday and Papua New Guinea on 30 October, while also relying on other results to go their way.

Samoa's 78-4 victory over France has further increased the pressure, leaving England's points difference 92 worse than Samoa's. McDermott acknowledged that qualification remained only a slim possibility but said his team were determined to pursue it. He also expressed frustration that the format had made a single opening defeat so damaging to England's prospects.