{"id":946649,"date":"2026-10-30T18:00:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T18:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/946649\/"},"modified":"2026-10-30T18:00:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T18:00:17","slug":"england-give-up-in-painful-win-over-png-as-rugby-league-world-cup-campaign-all-but-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/946649\/","title":{"rendered":"England \u2018give up\u2019 in \u2018painful\u2019 win over PNG as Rugby League World Cup campaign all but over"},"content":{"rendered":"

England\u2019s disastrous Rugby League World Cup<\/a> campaign is all but over after struggling to a 34-12 win over Papua New Guinea \u2014 nowhere near enough to put themselves in the mix to progress to the semi-finals.<\/p>\n

Brian McDermott\u2019s side rushed out to a 22-0 lead in their bid to put on a big score in the hope that they could still finish ahead of Samoa in the combined Pool B and C standings.<\/p>\n

Instead the Kumuls fired up and England fell apart in the second half, committing error after error in the scramble to put on points.<\/p>\n

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PNG lit up Wollongong with tries to Dudley Dotoi and Gairo Voro dragging them back into a contest opened up by England\u2019s failures.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know it would be painful for the dyed in the wool England fan but for neutral observers it\u2019s fun to watch,\u201d Andrew Voss said on Channel 7.<\/p>\n

\u201cEffort being rewarded by Papua New Guinea.<\/p>\n

\u201cEngland\u2019s lost their way. Errors, ill discipline, penalties, set restarts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s embarrassing from England is 50 seagulls have set up base at the northern end because England aren\u2019t getting there.\u201d<\/p>\n

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English great James Graham said the second half was \u201cfrustrating to watch\u201d while Clive Churchill medallist Ryan Papenhuyzen said it was a damning performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe belief from the Papua New Guinea side is so evident. It\u2019s nearly like England feel like they\u2019ve lost,\u201d Papenhuyzen said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know they need to win by a big margin but they seem like they\u2019ve given up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harry Smith kicked out on the full to fill what Voss described as \u201ca bingo card of errors\u201d.<\/p>\n

But England did hit back \u2014 albeit after a messy play \u2014 through Morgan Knowles in the 68th minute, before Mikey Lewis nabbed a consolation try in the dying seconds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been tough to watch England play this half. You can just see them searching for a feeling,\u201d Roosters premiership coach Trent Robinson said.<\/p>\n

England are still in with a mathematical shot of progressing to the semi-finals but would need Tonga to destroy Samoa by at least 47 points on Sunday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just can\u2019t see Tonga winning by that many points unfortunately,\u201d Graham said.<\/p>\n

England captain George Williams said he was feeling \u201cpretty rubbish\u201d about the situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was good the first 20 then the wheels kind of fell off, too many errors. Credit to PNG, they didn\u2019t stop fighting. But not good enough today and disappointing for us even though we won,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously we\u2019re relying on Tonga to do a more than massive job now. We\u2019re in with a chance, but a very slim one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graham noted England were not helped by limited preparations while Robinson said it was a mixed bag through their three games in the tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve played a really good style of footy. I like the way that they\u2019ve played, the system\u2019s been good, they\u2019ve been playing to the strengths of their back-rowers, the halves have been playing good footy, their defence has been good,\u201d Robinson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mentality of them not to arrest the game tonight, or to overcome Tonga in the first game, it isn\u2019t about the style of play.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the leaders on the field being able to be calm in different moments and arrest different periods of game. You can make errors for five minutes but you can\u2019t make them for 55.\u201d<\/p>\n

PNG\u2019s retiring skipper Rhyse Martin said he told the team he was \u201cso proud of their effort\u201d after bouncing back from last week\u2019s 64-6 loss to Samoa in Port Moresby.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can go out of this tournament with our heads high,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe dug in there, we turned up and we turned it into a game. We were nearly there, close to a win.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Trent Robinson issues emphatic Sam Walker statement: \u2018Frustrating\u2019<\/p>\n

3 min read<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Samoa sweating after powering into World Cup semi-finals for first time<\/p>\n

1 min read<\/p>\n

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