Match Details: England vs. France
- Date and Time: Saturday, 24 October at 07:35 BST
- Venue: HBF Park, Perth
- Broadcast: Live commentary via Radio 5 Sports Extra, Sounds, and Sport website and app
England winger Matty Ashton has called for a measured approach as the team prepares to face France in Perth on Saturday for their second Rugby League World Cup group match. Following a challenging defeat to Tonga last weekend, England must secure a victory while addressing a significant points differential in the combined Group B-C standings, following Samoa’s commanding 78-4 win over the French.
Ashton, 28, who has scored six tries in five previous England appearances, believes the team’s process remains sound despite the initial setback. I don’t think anything changes in our process,” Ashton said.
He maintains that while accumulating points is a priority, the squad must adhere to their tactical basics to avoid repeating errors that undermined their performance against Tonga. England enters the contest with a strong historical record against France, having outscored them 106-18 across two previous encounters. However, Ashton, 28, insists that the focus will be on repeating and adding to their performance against Tonga, which was brimming with promise but undermined by errors at key moments. We need to stick to our basics and the things we did in the Tonga game but obviously improve on that and hopefully the points will pick up. Any team that concedes 70-odd points is going to focus on their defence and we are a expecting a tough physical start from them. Paul Alamoti and Leka Halasima scored the other Tonga tries against opponents playing only their third game since the previous World Cup and with only a couple of a youthful squad that lost to Italy in 2025 still involved. We can prepare and start to get ready.
While France struggled early against Samoa, trailing 28-0 within the first 20 minutes, Ashton anticipates a more robust challenge on Saturday. He emphasized that the French side possesses an exciting, physical style of play, particularly from their forward pack. Consequently, the team expects a demanding opening phase to the game. We know that game is a bit different for us this week. They have a big forward pack and they try and put it on you early on. Trailing 10-0 and chasing a try to bring them back into the match, Alex Conti tried to kick towards the corner for Jason Saab, who was unable to collect and only batted it back for Tonga centre Tolutau Koula to run the length of the field and score at the other end, lebanon might reflect on a key moment towards the first half when.
Head coach Brian McDermott has made one change to the starting lineup, bringing in Ashton on the wing to replace Wigan’s Zach Eckersley. Hull KR half-back Mikey Lewis has been promoted to the bench, filling the vacancy left by Eckersley in the 19-man squad. Lewis, who previously inspired Hull KR to a World Club Challenge victory over the Brisbane Broncos, joins the rotation alongside half-backs Harry Smith and captain George Williams. With Hull KR half-back Mikey Lewis stepping up to the bench in his place, eckersley has now dropped out of the 19 altogether. But was not included in the 19 for the Tonga game, with Harry Smith and captain George Williams filling the half-back roles, lewis beat Leeds’ Jake Connor to a place in McDermott’s 23-man World Cup squad.
The tournament structure has placed England in a difficult position due to an unbalanced group format.
While Pool A features a standard four-team round-robin, Pools B and C are combined into a six-team league, with only the top two teams qualifying for the semi-finals.
Given their current points difference, which sits 92 behind leaders Samoa, England likely needs to win both their remaining fixtures against France and Papua New Guinea to remain in contention for the final four. They will almost certainly also need to defeat Papua New Guinea on Friday, 30 October (09:05 GMT), to have any chance of reaching the last four, with England’s points difference currently 92 worse than Ben Gardiner’s Samoa team in a combined Pool B and C table.
In other recent developments, Tonga strengthened their position in the knockout race with a 36-0 victory over Lebanon.
Sione Katoa and Jojo Fifita both scored twice in the win.
Lebanon coach Michael Cheika expressed frustration regarding his team’s preparation, noting that the squad had been unable to secure a warm-up game despite their efforts.
Cheika stated that his side, which featured 12 debutants against Tonga, has not played a match since the previous World Cup and struggled to arrange necessary warm-up fixtures ahead of the tournament.
