{"id":2228643,"date":"2026-10-30T11:17:27","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T08:17:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2228643"},"modified":"2026-10-30T11:17:27","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T08:17:27","slug":"rugby-league-world-cup-2026-england-edge-towards-exit-despite-png-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2228643","title":{"rendered":"Rugby League World Cup 2026: England edge towards exit despite PNG win"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/branded_sport\/1200\/cpsprodpb\/5f71\/live\/a01588e0-d464-11f1-b441-2b33b063138f.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article class=\"ssrcss-2fe4mx-ArticleWrapper e1nh2i2l0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-15twdc6-Stack e1y4nx260\">\n<div data-block=\"headline\" class=\"ssrcss-l7emlr-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-usmnse-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<header data-testid=\"headline\">\n<h1 id=\"main-heading\" tabindex=\"-1\" class=\"ssrcss-8zqj65-Heading e10rt3ze0\"><span role=\"text\">England edge towards World Cup exit despite PNG win<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"image\" class=\"ssrcss-l7emlr-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"ssrcss-1uy5kw5-FullWidthWrapper ep2nwvo1\">\n<figure class=\"ssrcss-hc6arm-StyledFigure e34k3c22\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21\"><span class=\"ssrcss-10we65u-Placeholder etlorgc0\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/240\/cpsprodpb\/8bb5\/live\/178672d0-d452-11f1-8780-edcbf4859104.jpg.webp 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/320\/cpsprodpb\/8bb5\/live\/178672d0-d452-11f1-8780-edcbf4859104.jpg.webp 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/480\/cpsprodpb\/8bb5\/live\/178672d0-d452-11f1-8780-edcbf4859104.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/624\/cpsprodpb\/8bb5\/live\/178672d0-d452-11f1-8780-edcbf4859104.jpg.webp 624w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/800\/cpsprodpb\/8bb5\/live\/178672d0-d452-11f1-8780-edcbf4859104.jpg.webp 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/976\/cpsprodpb\/8bb5\/live\/178672d0-d452-11f1-8780-edcbf4859104.jpg.webp 976w\" type=\"image\/webp\" \/><\/span><span role=\"text\" class=\"ssrcss-tzgxt7-StyledFigureCopyright e34k3c20\"><span class=\"visually-hidden ssrcss-i2z2ig-VisuallyHidden e16en2lz0\">Image source, <\/span>Getty Images<\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"ssrcss-3uli8u-StyledFigureCaption ehbdhz00\"><span class=\"visually-hidden ssrcss-i2z2ig-VisuallyHidden e16en2lz0\">Image caption, <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-15twdc6-Stack e1y4nx260\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">England have never previously failed to reach the knockout stages of the World Cup<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"byline\" class=\"ssrcss-vxwoax-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"single-byline\" class=\"ssrcss-sevsa1-ContributorContainer ee66fvo3\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-dt4z-ContributorInfo ee66fvo0\"><span class=\"visually-hidden ssrcss-i2z2ig-VisuallyHidden e16en2lz0\">By<\/span><span class=\"ssrcss-nsjd43-TextContributorName epw3ir01\">Steve Sutcliffe<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-dqo7s5-ContributorDetails ee66fvo2\"><span class=\"ssrcss-1m5444d-Text ee66fvo4\">BBC Sport journalist<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"metadata\" class=\"ssrcss-l7emlr-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"metadata\">\n<div>\n<ul role=\"list\" class=\"ssrcss-9tw7r1-MetadataStripContainer eh44mf03\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-10q9h22-GroupChildrenForWrapping eh44mf02\">\n<li role=\"listitem\" class=\"ssrcss-sf7vdp-MetadataStripItem eh44mf01\">\n<div class=\"visually-hidden ssrcss-i2z2ig-VisuallyHidden e16en2lz0\">Published<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-m5j4pi-MetadataContent eh44mf00\"><span class=\"ssrcss-1pvwv4b-MetadataSnippet e4wm5bw3\"><span class=\"ssrcss-61mhsj-MetadataText e4wm5bw1\"><time data-testid=\"timestamp\" datetime=\"2026-10-30T11:17:27.186Z\">30 October 2026, 11:17 GMT<\/time><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/div>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1ey53kj-MetadataSnippetWrapper exhp0uq0\"><span class=\"ssrcss-1pvwv4b-MetadataSnippet e4wm5bw3\"><span class=\"ssrcss-61mhsj-MetadataText e4wm5bw1\"><time data-testid=\"timestamp\" datetime=\"2026-10-30T13:29:47.702Z\">Updated 1 hour ago<\/time><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"text\" class=\"ssrcss-vxwoax-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"rich-text\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-nqezkk-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b>England (24) 34<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b>Tries:<\/b> Ashton, Brimson, Young, Smith, Knowles, Lewis<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b>Goals:<\/b> Savala 5, Smith <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b>Papua New Guinea (0) 12<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b>Tries:<\/b> Dotoi, Voro<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b>Goals:<\/b> Martin 2<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\"><b>England edged towards a World Cup exit after their points chase against Papua New Guinea descended into a chaotic and error-strewn victory that will almost certainly prove insufficient in the final reckoning.<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Since their opening loss to Tonga, England&#8217;s objective had been simple in their two remaining group games. Win and win well to have any hope of the reaching the last four.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">They achieved that objective against France with a crushing 82-0 triumph and looked on course to make significant inroads into the 68-point deficit they needed to make up on Samoa when they led 22-0 after 22 minutes, courtesy of tries from Matty Ashton, AJ Brimson, Dominic Young and Harry Smith.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">However, things went badly wrong from there on despite head coach Brian McDermott urging his players to be patient in the build-up to this fixture. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">A combination of repeatedly coughing up possession and conceding penalties restored belief in the Papua New Guinea ranks and Dudley Dotoi and Gairo Voro cashed in with tries for the Kumuls as England threw away the initiative. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">The sight of England centre Herbie Farnworth being stripped of the ball running towards the try line moments before Mikey Lewis added another try to Morgan Knowles&#8217; second-half effort aptly summed up how things had slipped away.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">England were guilty of making 21 errors and delivered a performance that included just a 57% completion rate, hardly good enough at this &#8211; or any &#8211; level.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">It was the total opposite of the blueprint from the France game and it means England can now only reach the last four if Tonga defeat Samoa by more than 46 points. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">As good as Kristian Woolf&#8217;s side are, that appears highly improbable given they lost 34-6 to Samoa 12 months ago in Brisbane and have not registered a win over their neighbours since 2018.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"links\" class=\"ssrcss-vxwoax-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1gccci3-Stack e1y4nx260\">\n<ul role=\"list\" class=\"ssrcss-94r6ik-Stack e1y4nx260\">\n<li class=\"ssrcss-qzx51b-LinkItem e3eyuya1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1gccci3-Stack e1y4nx260\"><span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0s6gx-LinkHeadline e3eyuya4\"><span aria-hidden=\"false\">England thrash Wales to begin World Cup defence<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<ul role=\"list\" class=\"ssrcss-9tw7r1-MetadataStripContainer eh44mf03\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-10q9h22-GroupChildrenForWrapping eh44mf02\">\n<li role=\"listitem\" class=\"ssrcss-sf7vdp-MetadataStripItem eh44mf01\">\n<div class=\"visually-hidden ssrcss-i2z2ig-VisuallyHidden e16en2lz0\">Published<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-m5j4pi-MetadataContent eh44mf00\"><span class=\"ssrcss-1pvwv4b-MetadataSnippet e4wm5bw3\"><span class=\"ssrcss-61mhsj-MetadataText e4wm5bw1\">2 hours ago<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/div>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ssrcss-qzx51b-LinkItem e3eyuya1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1gccci3-Stack e1y4nx260\"><span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0s6gx-LinkHeadline e3eyuya4\"><span aria-hidden=\"false\">Spirited England out of World Cup after Samoa loss<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<ul role=\"list\" class=\"ssrcss-9tw7r1-MetadataStripContainer eh44mf03\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-10q9h22-GroupChildrenForWrapping eh44mf02\">\n<li role=\"listitem\" class=\"ssrcss-sf7vdp-MetadataStripItem eh44mf01\">\n<div class=\"visually-hidden ssrcss-i2z2ig-VisuallyHidden e16en2lz0\">Published<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-m5j4pi-MetadataContent eh44mf00\"><span class=\"ssrcss-1pvwv4b-MetadataSnippet e4wm5bw3\"><span class=\"ssrcss-61mhsj-MetadataText e4wm5bw1\">5 hours ago<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/div>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ssrcss-qzx51b-LinkItem e3eyuya1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1gccci3-Stack e1y4nx260\"><span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0s6gx-LinkHeadline e3eyuya4\"><span aria-hidden=\"false\">England on brink of RL World Cup exit after failing to notch big enough win over PNG &#8211; as it happened<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"subheadline\" class=\"ssrcss-vxwoax-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-usmnse-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"subheadline\">\n<h2 id=\"Matts-player-of-the-match-AJ-Brimson\" tabindex=\"-1\" class=\"ssrcss-1sc9t00-Heading e10rt3ze0\"><span role=\"text\">Matt&#8217;s player of the match &#8211; AJ Brimson<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"image\" class=\"ssrcss-l7emlr-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"image\" class=\"ssrcss-1uy5kw5-FullWidthWrapper ep2nwvo1\">\n<figure class=\"ssrcss-hc6arm-StyledFigure e34k3c22\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21\"><span class=\"ssrcss-5imb1a-Placeholder etlorgc0\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/240\/cpsprodpb\/95a8\/live\/c63b3370-d465-11f1-a701-fddedf244c16.jpg.webp 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/320\/cpsprodpb\/95a8\/live\/c63b3370-d465-11f1-a701-fddedf244c16.jpg.webp 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/480\/cpsprodpb\/95a8\/live\/c63b3370-d465-11f1-a701-fddedf244c16.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/624\/cpsprodpb\/95a8\/live\/c63b3370-d465-11f1-a701-fddedf244c16.jpg.webp 624w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/800\/cpsprodpb\/95a8\/live\/c63b3370-d465-11f1-a701-fddedf244c16.jpg.webp 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/standard\/976\/cpsprodpb\/95a8\/live\/c63b3370-d465-11f1-a701-fddedf244c16.jpg.webp 976w\" type=\"image\/webp\" \/><\/span><span role=\"text\" class=\"ssrcss-tzgxt7-StyledFigureCopyright e34k3c20\"><span class=\"visually-hidden ssrcss-i2z2ig-VisuallyHidden e16en2lz0\">Image source, <\/span>EPA<\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"ssrcss-3uli8u-StyledFigureCaption ehbdhz00\"><span class=\"visually-hidden ssrcss-i2z2ig-VisuallyHidden e16en2lz0\">Image caption, <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-15twdc6-Stack e1y4nx260\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">AJ Brimson made his England debut against Australia last autumn<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"byline\" class=\"ssrcss-vxwoax-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"single-byline\" class=\"ssrcss-sevsa1-ContributorContainer ee66fvo3\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-dt4z-ContributorInfo ee66fvo0\"><span class=\"visually-hidden ssrcss-i2z2ig-VisuallyHidden e16en2lz0\">By<\/span><span class=\"ssrcss-nsjd43-TextContributorName epw3ir01\">Matt Newsum<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-dqo7s5-ContributorDetails ee66fvo2\"><span class=\"ssrcss-1m5444d-Text ee66fvo4\">BBC Sport Rugby League journalist<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"text\" class=\"ssrcss-vxwoax-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-126h8e-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"rich-text\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-nqezkk-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">Across the 80 minutes, there was only one real England candidate for player of the match. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">AJ Brimson was everywhere &#8211; popping up in attack to provide an extra option, and in defence where he made a string of crucial tackles. <\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">His metres gained stats were impressive as per usual &#8211; and as he has done in each England game at this World Cup, he also provided a touch of flair.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph e1jhz7w10\">On a night when England were left with thoughts of what might have been, Brimson gave a sign of what could be. Let&#8217;s hope he stays in their plans.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-block=\"topicList\" class=\"ssrcss-vxwoax-ComponentWrapper e1aon0op1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-tcr9z1-Spacer e1aon0op0\">\n<div data-testid=\"topic-list\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-nj9heb-StyledTagContainer ed0g1kj1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1pfbb52-TopicListHeaderWrapper etw6iwl0\">\n<h2 class=\"ssrcss-89o2pv-Heading e10rt3ze0\">Related topics<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-17ehax8-Cluster e1ihwmse1\">\n<ul role=\"list\" class=\"ssrcss-w8zanw-ClusterItems e1ihwmse0\">\n<li>Rugby League<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/sport\/rugby-league\/articles\/cx30e28vn5r4o&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/ace\/branded_sport\/1200\/cpsprodpb\/5f71\/live\/a01588e0-d464-11f1-b441-2b33b063138f.jpg&#8221;] England edge towards World Cup exit despite PNG win Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, England have never previously failed to reach the knockout stages of the World Cup BySteve Sutcliffe BBC Sport journalist Published 30 October 2026, 11:17 GMT Updated 1 hour ago England (24) 34 Tries: Ashton, Brimson, Young, Smith, Knowles, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[35,226],"class_list":["post-2228643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-bbc-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2228643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2228643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2228643\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2228643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2228643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2228643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}