England need miracle to stay in World Cup after failing to crush Papua New Guinea

Pool B + C: England 34-12 Papua New Guinea Men’s and women’s sides exit in matter of hours England’s Rugby League World Cup campaign is all but over despite victory over Papua New Guinea in their final group stage game, with Brian McDermott’s side failing to score the requisite a

Pool B + C: England 34-12 Papua New Guinea Men’s and women’s sides exit in matter of hours England’s Rugby League World Cup campaign is all but over despite victory over Papua New Guinea in their final group stage game, with Brian McDermott’s side failing to score the requisite amount of points to give themselves a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals. The task was ominous pre-match, with England needing to not only beat the Kumuls and hope Tonga defeated Samoa on Sunday, but overturn a 68-point swing on the Samoans in the process. Technically it is still possible after England at least won in Wollongong, but the 22-point margin of victory means they are relying on a 46-point Tongan win.

In short, that is near-impossible. Continue reading...