England unchanged to face France after Tonga defeat
England men's coach Brian McDermott names an unchanged 19-man squad for their Rugby League World Cup match against France in Perth on Saturday.
England coach Brian McDermott has named an unchanged 19-man squad for Saturday's Rugby League World Cup match against France.
This is despite a 30-12 defeat by Tonga in their opening game which has put England's chances of progression to the semi-finals in danger.
AJ Brimson retains his place at full-back in the XIII with Jack Welsby among the interchanges.
McDermott has kept faith in his players as they prepare for Saturday's Group B-C match in Perth (kick-off 07.35 BST).
England men: AJ Brimson, Dom Young, Hugo Savala, Herbie Farnworth, Zach Eckersley, George Williams, Harry Smith, Max King, Brad O'Neill, Luke Thompson, Junior Nsemba, Kai Pearce-Paul, Victor Radley.
Interchange: Jez Litten, Ben Currie, Ethan Havard, Sam Walters, Jack Welsby, Matty Ashton.
Reserves: Kallum Watkins, Mikey Lewis, Ben Talty.
Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand
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Luke Thompson will continue at prop with Morgan Knowles still not fit to play after picking up an injury before the Tonga game.
And Mikey Lewis, who was a much-debated pick for the squad as one of the centres ahead of 2025 Super League Man Of Steel Jake Connor, remains out of the team.
Harry Smith will continue alongside England captain George Williams in the centre, despite both being overpowered by Tonga last weekend.
That defeat, England's first ever against Tonga, has left McDermott's side with a tough task to reach the semi-finals.
England must win their next two games, against France next Saturday and Papua New Guinea on 30 October, to stand a realistic chance of progression - and because of the World Cup's format, probably need to win them both by a big score.
Even then, there is the strong possibility that England will not know their fate for certain until two days later, when Tonga face 2022 finalists Samoa in their last group game.
