Samoa and England both made a statement in round 2 of the Rugby League World Cup on Saturday 24 October. Samoa beat Papua New Guinea 64-6 in front of a sold-out crowd in Port Moresby, and England thrashed France 82-0 in Perth to keep their semi-final hopes alive.
Leniu turns the Port Moresby party for Samoa
PNG led 6-4 at the Santos National Football Stadium and the home crowd was dreaming of an upset. Then Samoa coach Ben Gardiner sent prop Spencer Leniu on midway through the first half. Leniu scored in the 30th minute and ran for 166 metres in a 38-minute stint. By the time he left the field in the second half, Samoa led 28-6.
Sualauvi Fa’alogo scored twice, with Francis Manuleleua, Stephen Crichton and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (twice) also crossing, and six tries came in the final 15 minutes. PNG’s only try came from halfback Bailey Biondi-Odo. The Kumuls named just 18 players because of injury and illness, and lost Jack de Belin in the first half, according to AAP.
Samoa have now scored 142 points in two games at the Rugby League World Cup, after beating France 78-4 last week.
England do what they had to against France
England lost 30-12 to Tonga in round 1 of the Rugby League World Cup, so they needed a huge win. They did not get it early. France defended well and the first 20 minutes were scoreless, then Dom Young scored in the 23rd minute and England ran in six tries in the last 17 minutes of the half to lead 36-0.
Herbie Farnworth scored a first-half hat-trick and Young completed his own on 62 minutes. Fullback AJ Brimson was player of the match with a try, three assists and five line breaks. In all, England scored 14 tries to none. It was their first Test win in Australia since 2008, and a record winning margin against France.
Coach Brian McDermott called the effort “just enormous” given the context.
What the Rugby League World Cup results mean for the semi-finals
Samoa are unbeaten and next face fellow unbeaten side Tonga on Sunday 1 November at a sold-out CommBank Stadium. England still need help. They must beat PNG heavily in Wollongong on Friday 30 October and then hope Tonga beat Samoa. Sky Sports reported England were about 150 points behind on points difference before the France game. PNG can still progress with a win over England if other results go their way, while France finish against Lebanon.
The semi-finals are on 7 and 8 November, with the Rugby League World Cup final at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on 15 November.
Related: Tonga blank Lebanon 36-0 to move closer to World Cup semi-finals
Sources: NRL.com (Samoa v PNG), NRL.com (England v France), Sky Sports, AAP.
