England crush France 82-0 to stay in World Cup contention
England thrash France 82-0 in Perth to keep their World Cup hopes alive but they still need to beat Papua New Guinea on Friday and require Tonga to defeat Samoa next Sunday to reach the semi-finals.
England face France in a must-win Pool B/C encounter at Perth Rectangular Stadium, with a loss potentially ending their Rugby League World Cup aspirations. Following a 30-12 opening defeat to Tonga, England's path to the semi-finals requires a significant victory over France and favorable results elsewhere. According to Rugby World, England's fate is no longer in their own hands regardless of the outcome in Perth.
Brian McDermott has made one change to the England starting line-up, with Matty Ashton replacing Zach Eckersley on the wing, according to Rugby World. TechRadar reports that McDermott has otherwise picked an unchanged side, noting that Mikey Lewis misses the matchday squad while AJ Brimson continues at fullback and Jack Welsby is at interchange.
France enter the match after a 78-4 loss to Samoa. TechRadar reports that Thomas Lacans will start at five-eighth, Romeo Tropis at center, and Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet on the wing, with captain Ben Garcia starting at lock. Rugby World adds that Amir Bourouh has been named at hooker.
The match is scheduled for Saturday, October 24, with kick-off at 7.35am BST, according to TechRadar and Rugby World. Yahoo Sports notes that BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra will provide commentary for the match in the UK.
Brief written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports, TechRadar, Rugby World, Winnipeg Free Press — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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