England hooker Brad O'Neill says his side will resist the urge to go for broke when they face France in their second Rugby League World Cup match in Perth on Saturday.
An opening 30-12 defeat to Tonga has left England's hopes of reaching the semi-finals hanging by a thread, with points difference looking increasingly like the only way to progress. Head coach Brian Mc Dermott has named an unchanged 19-man matchday squad, a sign that he does not plan radical changes against a France team smarting from their 78-4 humbling by Samoa.
O'Neill, the newly-crowned Super League Man of Steel, said the mentality cannot be any different to what the team showed against Tonga. "We can't go into this game thinking about the points difference," he said. "We've got to go into this game hard-nosed like we did against Tonga, and hopefully if we do our jobs well enough we're going to get the win."
A complicated cross-group format has left England needing Tonga to beat Samoa in their final group game in a fortnight's time to stand any chance of reaching the last four, provided all other games go to form. That would leave the final semi-final slot to be decided on points difference between England and Samoa, and Mc Dermott's men are already up against it given Samoa's stunning win over the Super League-laden French side.
O'Neill added that many of the French players are familiar faces from Super League, with Catalans and Toulouse. "We're expecting a great game at the weekend," he said. "But we're not changing anything about the way we play. It's more about working on the execution side of things that we didn't do so well against Tonga."
England must regroup ahead of facing France in Perth next Saturday, kick-off 7.35am (UK and Ireland time). England women face Australia at 10.05am.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing