According to Brian Carney, England faces a daunting task in their bid to reach the Rugby League World Cup semi-finals, with a historic group-stage exit looming large. Their 30-12 loss to Tonga in the opening match cast doubt on their ability to advance to the knockout stages. Despite a convincing 82-0 win over France on Saturday, Brian McDermott’s team still requires a combination of favorable outcomes to qualify.
England Must Beat Papua New Guinea
To progress, England must secure a convincing victory over Papua New Guinea (PNG) in Wollongong on Friday. Their fate will then be decided two days later, when Tonga takes on Samoa in Sydney. If Samoa emerges victorious, England’s tournament will come to an end, whereas a Tonga win could potentially see them advance based on points difference.
“The whistle went on the Tonga game and everybody went: ‘Well, this format is appalling. England are essentially out. It’s one and done in the tournament’,” Carney said. “They went out against France and they built a huge scoreline to give themselves hope. They’re going to have to do the same again against a PNG side who I have found disappointing in the tournament so far. They will need Tonga to beat Samoa so they’re going to need an awful lot to go their way.”
This year’s tournament features a distinctive format, with six teams competing in Pool B and C. In the event of multiple teams finishing with the same record, the final group standings will be determined by the teams’ head-to-head records. As a result, Tonga would finish above England in the standings due to their first-round victory. England trails Samoa by a significant points difference margin of 68 heading into the final round of fixtures and must narrow this gap with a substantial win over PNG to overtake Samoa.
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“What England have to do, and you’ve heard this a thousand times in different sports, is control the controllables,” Carney said. “They’ll have to go out, pile on the points, and the more points they put over, the less Tonga have to win by.”
England Women’s Team Falls to Australia
England’s women‘s team suffered a crushing 78-0 defeat at the hands of defending world champions Australia on Saturday. This loss follows their 90-4 defeat to the Jillaroos in Las Vegas in March 2025, raising further concerns about the gap between England and the world’s top teams. Despite starting the tournament with a commanding 70-6 win over Wales, England must now beat Samoa in a winner-takes-all final group-stage clash on Saturday to secure their place in the knockout stages.
“I’d ask this question: ‘What did one expect?'” Carney said. “The English women’s side, it’s coming from a competition that is struggling for competitive games, struggling for resources, against a Jillaroos side who are very well resourced, in a very competitive environment with very strong competition, and all the best players in the world are in Australia’s competition – the NRLW.
So I’m not sure what people expected the game to be. Was it an improvement on the Las Vegas defeat? Marginally on the scoreboard. Some will argue they have seen signs that England have turned the corner. I’m not so sure. Unless you sort out the competition over here, and rugby league in this part of the world, and everybody is adequately funded, you’re not going to close the gap.”
