England's elimination from the Rugby League World Cup was confirmed after Tonga beat Samoa 20-18 in the final group match. England secured a 34-12 victory against Papua New Guinea on Friday but needed to win by a big margin to advance to the semi-finals. Brian Mc Dermott's side's hopes rested on Tonga to win by more than 46 points to reach the last four for the seventh successive tournament.
Instead, they are on the plane home from Australasia despite winning two of their three matches. The 30-12 defeat by Tonga in the opening match proved costly, with an 82-0 win over France leaving England with 68 points to make up on Samoa. They failed to make significant enough inroads in the 32-10 win over Papua New Guinea.
English hopes briefly flickered when Tonga led 8-0, Robert Toia scoring the opening try after a near 50-metre sprint. With Isaiya Katoa converting and then kicking a penalty, England just needed Tonga to score another 39 unanswered points to stay in the tournament. However, Brian To'o's try hauled Samoa back to 8-4 down at half-time.
Jojo Fifita put Tonga 14-4 ahead before To'o, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow and Ronald Volkman edged Samoa into a two-point lead, only for Addin Fonua-Blake to win it for Tonga. Tonga will play New Zealand in the last four, while Samoa will face Australia in a repeat of the 2022 final. The new tournament structure, downsized from 16 teams to 10, has effectively meant that each group game in Pool B and C has carried more jeopardy than before.
England were drawn in Pool B and C alongside Tonga, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Lebanon and France. The top two teams from each group qualify for the knockout rounds, and in the event of a tie, teams are judged on their head-to-head record before points difference. Mc Dermott's side were beaten in their first match against Tonga which put their hopes of qualifying in the balance, despite later thrashing France by 82 points in round two.
Sky Sports' Jon Wilkin said the competition structure is just diabolical and unfair in the extreme to the start.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing