Rugby League World Cup: Ryan Hall and Dom Young put England on verge of last eight with France win
Ryan Hall and Dom Young grab two tries apiece as England all but secure their World Cup quarter-final place with a 42-18 win over France in Bolton; Luke Thompson, Elliott Whitehead and Victor Radley also cross for the hosts, with Marc Sneyd kicking all seven conversion attempts
By Marc Bazeley at the University of Bolton Stadium
Last Updated: 22/10/22 8:54pm
Dynamic wing duo Ryan Hall and Dom Young grabbed two tries apiece as England all but sealed their Rugby League World Cup quarter-final place with a 42-18 win over France at the University of Bolton Stadium.
The recalled Hall's two converted tries and another from Luke Thompson put the hosts into a 18-point lead with 25 minutes gone, but the lead was trimmed to six by half-time as Arthur Mourgue and Eloi Pelissier capitalised on opportunities for the French.
Any nerves from the hosts were settled soon after the restart though as Elliott Whitehead and Victor Radley both crossed, with Young making it four tries in two games for England, who now have two victories from two in Group A.
- England 42-18 France: As it happened!
- RLWC news blog | Men's, women's and wheelchair fixtures | Standings
The biggest concern for England, however, will be the status of Kallum Watkins after the centre was helped from the field in some discomfort after being injured in a tackle 12 minutes into the second half.
Story of the game
England were aiming to carry on where they left off on the opening weekend after a resounding 60-6 win over Samoa in Newcastle, and they could hardly have asked for a better start as they dominated the possession and the territory.
Hall, recalled on the wing in place of Tommy Makinson, was seeking to prove a point after being left out of the team for that match by head coach Shaun Wane and got the hosts up and running with seven minutes on the clock.
It was opposite winger Dom Young who had got England into position after being released down the right, and when he was halted the ball was worked back inside for George Williams to put in a cross-field kick which was batted down to Marc Sneyd, who fed the Hull Kingston Rovers man to score on the left and added the extras.
Team news
Ryan Hall, Marc Sneyd and John Bateman all came into the starting XIII for England, with Andy Ackers and Mikolaj Oledzki making their first appearances of the tournament for the hosts off the interchange bench.
Forward Benjamin Jullien was forced to plug a gap in the centre for France, with Matthieu Laguerre moved to the wing in the absence of Fouad Yaha. Mickael Goudemand came into the starting XIII in the second row, with Gadwin Springer included on the interchange bench.
Six minutes later, Hall was in for his second as England went to the left again, with Herbie Farnworth drawing in the defence and then releasing the record try-scorer for his country to race over for his 37th try in the national team's shirt. Sneyd obliged by nailing the conversion from out wide too.
Then on 25 minutes, England had their third as Sydney Roosters back row Radley combined with another of the hosts' NRL contingent in Thompson, sending the Canterbury Bulldogs prop racing away to score under the posts and give Sneyd a simple conversion attempt.
France had barely ventured into England's half at this point, but their first sight of the opposition's try-line in the 29th minute on the back of a set restart saw Mourgue produce some fine individual skill, stabbing through a grubber which he chased down to finish.
Then an error from Farnworth after England had held out close to their try-line gifted possession back to France, with Pelissier punishing them by forcing his way over under the posts and Mourgue once again converting.
England 42-18 France score summary
England: Tries โ Ryan Hall (2), Dom Young (2), Luke Thompson, Elliott Whitehead, Victor Radley; Goals โ Marc Sneyd (7).
France: Tries โ Arthur Mourgue, Eloi Pelissier, Arthur Romano; Goals โ Arthur Mourgue (3).
Wane would have undoubtedly had some stern words for his team at the break after conceding those two tries and they gave him the perfect response six minutes after the restart as John Bateman ran at the French defence and then offloaded for second-row partner Whitehead to finish.
Radley then went from provider to scorer five minutes later, chasing down a kick from Andy Ackers to grab his first try in an England shirt to put the hosts firmly in control.
Young continued his flying start to his international career by putting the seal on the win with two tries of his own. The first came in the 57th minute when his fine support play saw him take a pass from interchange player Jack Welsby to score and the second following nine minutes later after he returned an interception all of 90 metres for his second.
There was still time for Arthur Romano to grab another consolation try for France with four minutes to go and tempers flared late on which resulted in England prop Tom Burgess being sent to the sin bin, but this was very much the day for Wane's men.
Progress to the knockout stages will be officially rubber-stamped on Sunday if Samoa beat Greece as expected in this weekend's other Group A clash on Sunday.
What's next?
England face Greece at Sheffield's Bramall Lane on Saturday, October 29 (2.30pm) where victory will see them top Group A. France travel to Warrington's Halliwell Jones Stadium to take on Samoa the following day (5pm) in what is likely to be a shoot-out for the other quarter-final place up for grabs.
