Herbie Farnworth and Dom Young Score Hat-Tricks as England Beat France 82-0 to Stay Alive
England scored 14 tries without reply against France at HBF Park in Perth on Saturday. Herbie Farnworth and Dom Young scored three each, and Hugo Savala kicked 13 goals from 14 attempts.
The margin was the point. England lost 30-12 to Tonga a week ago, and only a big win kept their semi-final hopes going.
Nothing for 23 minutes, then six tries
Nobody scored in the first quarter. England made six errors in the opening 20 minutes, BBC Sport counted, and Matty Ashton knocked on over the line with what should have been the first try.
Then captain George Williams broke the line and a behind-the-back pass sent Young into the corner. Ashton scored soon after, his seventh try in six Tests. Farnworth went over on 27 minutes and again nine minutes later. Williams powered over under the posts, and Farnworth finished a move through the hands for his hat-trick just before half-time.
Brian McDermott liked the patience more than the points. “For us to not score a point until after the 20th minute, it showed a lot of patience from us,” he said, as reported by Love Rugby League. “Our defensive intent was great from the start.”
Brimson ran the second half
Young chased down a grubber early in the second half. Victor Radley scored unopposed, Jez Litten scored off the bench, Mikey Lewis got two and Jack Welsby one. Young caught a poor short kick-off and ran through for his third.
AJ Brimson, the Gold Coast Titans fullback, made break after break and finished with a try of his own. BBC Sport’s Matt Newsum picked him as player of the match. The 13th try took England past the 74-point margin Samoa beat France by a week earlier.
| Scorer | Tries | Goals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Herbie Farnworth | 3 | 0 | 12 |
| Dom Young | 3 | 0 | 12 |
| Mikey Lewis | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| Matty Ashton, George Williams, Victor Radley, Jez Litten, Jack Welsby, AJ Brimson | 1 each | 0 | 24 |
| Hugo Savala | 0 | 13 | 26 |
| England | 14 | 13 | 82 |
Why England still need Tonga
Pools B and C share one table, and only the top two reach the semi-finals. After two rounds Samoa and Tonga have four points and England have two. England play Papua New Guinea in Wollongong on Friday 30 October. Tonga play Samoa at CommBank Stadium two days later.
Head-to-head results are the first tiebreaker for teams level on points, nrl.com reported, before points difference. Tonga beat England, so England cannot finish above them on equal points. If Samoa beat Tonga, Samoa finish on six and Tonga on four, and England are out.
If Tonga win, they go through on six. Samoa and England have not played each other, so if England beat Papua New Guinea and both finish on four, points difference decides second place. Samoa are on plus 132 and England on plus 64. England’s winning margin on Friday plus Samoa’s losing margin on Sunday has to come to more than 68.
That is the route BBC Sport and the Guardian both described after the game. McDermott put it plainly: “We’ve got to win big and any coach will tell you nobody thinks like that.”
The live World Cup table has every score so far, and how to watch the World Cup lists the channels for the last round of pool games.
