England will only really know next weekend whether this record-breaking result means anything, but when not only a win but a convincing one would keep their hopes of reaching the World Cup semi-finals alive, this was a case of job done for Brian McDermott and his side.
With the shortened and controversial group stage format meaning just one defeat is near-ruinous, even the head coach broke ranks this week and admitted England’s chances of qualification are slim at best after the 30-12 loss to Tonga on the opening weekend. Samoa’s 64-6 win against Papua New Guinea earlier on Saturday meant the permutations became simple, but daunting. Samoa beat France 78-4 last week, giving them a +132 points differential; England now have a +64 points differential.
Above all, England need a favour from Tonga against Samoa next Sunday. Should Samoa win, England are going home. But if Samoa slip up – entirely possible in a hotly contested game akin to State of Origin – then a second big England win could be enough.
When kick-off arrived in Perth, England knew they had to overturn a 150-point swing on Samoa. To that end, eroding more than half that deficit in one match represented a positive outcome as McDermott’s pre-tournament promise of expansive rugby bore fruit.
That said, it was not clear if England were mindful of the permutations during a tense opening quarter. At the midway point in the first half, the game was scoreless, with France doing a wonderful job of resisting England’s challenge, some frustrating attacking play.
But Dom Young’s try 15 minutes from the break opened the floodgates. In 55 minutes England scored 14 tries, with a string of outstanding individual performances.
Should England beat Papua New Guinea by a margin of 68 points in Wollongong on Friday, a Tonga victory would allow McDermott’s side to sneak through to the semi-finals. If the winning margin is smaller than 68, they would need Tonga to pick up the slack in their own winning margin. Unlikely? Perhaps.
“What we’ve done today is enormous given the context,” McDermott said. “We knew we had to win big and we’ve done it without getting distracted.”
England Brimson; Young, Savala, Farnworth, Ashton; Williams, Smith; King, O’Neill, Thompson, Nsemba, Pearce-Paul, Radley. Interchange Litten, Welsby, Lewis, Walters, Currie, Havard. Tries Young 3, Ashton, Farnworth 3, Williams, Radley, Litten, Lewis 2, Welsby, Brimson. Goals Savala 13.
France Mourgue, Laguerre, Siegwalt, Tropis, Yaha; Lacans, Fages; Navarrete, Bourouh, Bousquet, Romano, Jussaume, Garcia. Interchange Aispuro-Bichet, Belmas, Cozza, Grossemy, Dezaria, Rouge.
Referee Adam Gee (Aus).
France have conceded 160 points in two games, raising again questions about the strength of French rugby league. They did frustrate England early on, but once Young crossed, France could not halt the points.
By half-time, England had 34, with another five tries. Three of them went to Herbie Farnworth, who underlined his status as the world’s best centre with a devastating display.
George Williams and Matty Ashton were the other first-half try-scorers, but even with the game over as a contest England could not afford to let up.
There were eight more tries after the break, with Young completing his hat-trick. The introduction of the Hull KR duo Jez Litten and Mikey Lewis was also key, with the pair exploiting an exhausted defensive line. Litten finished a fine break for his try before Lewis scored twice in six minutes.
Victor Radley and Jack Welsby also crossed and at one stage in the final quarter, England were 76-0 ahead, with a real chance they could reach 100. Yet there was only the late try AJ Brimson’s display merited as England declared on 82.
Time will tell whether that is enough, but on a day when the pressure was at its highest, England did what was required.
