McDermott retains England squad after historic Tonga defeat

Brian McDermott has retained England's 19-man squad following their first defeat by Tonga, keeping the same group for the Rugby League World Cup meeting with France in Perth. BBC Sport reported the selection on Tuesday after England lost their opening match 30-12.

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AJ Brimson remains at full-back, with Jack Welsby again outside the starting XIII. Harry Smith continues alongside captain George Williams in the halves, while Mikey Lewis remains out of the team. Morgan Knowles is still unavailable through injury, leaving Luke Thompson in the starting front row.

The decision preserves the reshuffle England made immediately before the Tonga match. According to NRL.com's official first-round team update, Knowles was withdrawn in the 24-hour squad revision. Thompson moved into the starting side and Ben Currie joined the six-man bench. There were no further England changes on match day, so the latest announcement maintains that revised combination rather than restoring the original line-up.

England's opening selection also introduced several players to Test rugby. NRL.com identified Zach Eckersley, Sam Walters, Hugo Savala and Max King as debutants for the Tonga fixture. The starting pack paired King and Thompson at prop, with Brad O'Neill at hooker. Junior Nsemba and Kai Pearce-Paul occupied the second row, and Victor Radley was named at loose forward.

The opening round produced decisive results elsewhere in the same section of the tournament. NRL.com's match listings recorded Samoa's 78-4 victory over France and Papua New Guinea's 42-18 win against Lebanon. Those results left both England and their next opponents France coming off defeats, while Papua New Guinea opened with a win before their later meeting with McDermott's side.

BBC Sport reported that England's defeat had put their semi-final prospects in jeopardy. Their remaining matches are against France on Saturday and Papua New Guinea on 30 October. Even victories in both may leave their position dependent on other results, including Tonga's final group match against Samoa two days later. England's qualification remains unresolved.