IRL Men's Rugby League World Cup : Pool B & C

Sat 24th October 2026   - KO  14:35 - HBF Park, Perth , Australia

England

82

FT

0

Half Time
36 - 0

France

Tries

Dom YOUNG (22,45,63)
Matty ASHTON (24)
Herbert FARNWORTH (26,34,39)
George WILLIAMS (37)
Victor RADLEY (48)
Jez LITTEN (58)
Michael LEWIS (62,68)
Jack WELSBY (66)
Alexander BRIMSON (77)

Goals

Hugo SAVALA (13/13)

Match Preview | England take on France in Perth in Men's World Cup group stages on Saturday

England and France meet in Perth on Saturday as both sides look to secure their first victory at the 2026 IRL Men’s Rugby League World Cup, with kick-off at 5:35pm local time.

Both teams suffered defeats in their opening Pool B and C fixtures last weekend, with England losing 30-12 to Tonga and France falling to a heavy 78-4 defeat against Samoa.

England head coach Brian McDermott has named an unchanged side following last weekend’s defeat to Tonga, as his team look to get their World Cup campaign back on track and claim their first two points of the tournament.

France, meanwhile, will be hoping to respond with an improved performance after their disappointing opening outing against Samoa. Romeo Tropis comes into the backline in place of Catalans Dragons winger Leo Darrelatour, while Thomas Lacans joins Theo Fages in the halves for Saturday’s clash.

England (squad): Alexander BRIMSON, Dominic YOUNG, Hugo Savala, Herbert FARNWORTH, Zach ECKERSLEY, George WILLIAMS, Harry SMITH, Max KING, Brad O'NIELL, Luke THOMPSON, Junior NSEMBA, Kai PEARCE-PAUL, Victor RADLEY, Jez LITTEN, Ben CURRIE, Ethan HAVARD, Sam WALTERS, Jack WELSBY, Matty ASHTON, Kallum WATKINS, Michael LEWIS, Ben TALTY

France (squad): Arthur  MOURGUE, Guillermo AISPURO-BICHET, Latrell SIEGWALT, Romeo TROPIS, Benjamin LAGUERRE, Thomas LACANS, Theo FAGES, Romain NAVARRETE, Amir BOUROUH, Julian BOUSQUET, Arthur ROMANO, Mathieu JUSSAUME, Benjamin GARCIA, Cesar ROUGE, Lambert BELMAS, Mathieu COZZA, Louis GROSSEMY, Jordan DEZARIA, Fouad YAHA, Joe DRODROLAGI, Tiaki CHAN, Alrix DA COSTA

20 October 2026
1 Alexander BRIMSON
Full Back
Arthur  MOURGUE 1
2 Dom YOUNG
Right Wing
Benjamin LAGUERRE 2
3 Hugo SAVALA
Right Centre
Latrell SIEGWALT 3
4 Herbert FARNWORTH
Left Centre
Romeo TROPIS 4
5 Matty ASHTON
Left Wing
Fouad YAHA 5
6 George WILLIAMS
Stand Off
Thomas LACANS 6
7 Harry SMITH
Scrum Half
Theo FAGES 7
8 Max KING
Prop
Romain NAVARRETE 8
9 Brad O'NIELL
Hooker
Amir BOUROUH 9
15 Luke THOMPSON
Prop
Julian BOUSQUET 10
11 Junior NSEMBA
Second Row
Arthur ROMANO 11
12 Kai PEARCE-PAUL
Second Row
Mathieu JUSSAUME 12
13 Victor RADLEY
Loose Forward
Benjamin GARCIA 13
14 Jez LITTEN
Int 1
Guillermo AISPURO-BICHET (used) 14
15 Sam WALTERS
Int 2
Lambert BELMAS (used) 15
16 Jack WELSBY
Int 3
Mathieu COZZA (used) 16
17 Michael LEWIS
Int 4
Louis GROSSEMY (used) 17
18 Ben CURRIE
Int 5
Jordan DEZARIA 18
19 Ethan HAVARD
Int 6
Cesar ROUGE 19

England secured their first victory of the 2026 IRL Men’s Rugby League World Cup in emphatic fashion, thrashing France 82-0 at HBF Park in Perth.

After both sides suffered defeats in their opening Pool B and Pool C fixtures last weekend, Brian McDermott’s England side responded in style, running in 14 tries to record a comprehensive shutout victory.

England were initially frustrated by a determined France defence during the opening 20 minutes, but eventually found their breakthrough through Dom Young and Matty Ashton, before Herbie Farnworth raced clear to extend their lead.

Farnworth proved unstoppable, completing a first-half hat-trick in just 13 minutes. His second and third tries came either side of a score from George Williams, giving England a commanding 36-0 advantage at the interval.

The dominance continued after the restart, with Young grounding a perfectly placed kick to the corner to claim his second try of the match.

Victor Radley was next to cross, supporting an incisive break from Williams, before Hull KR’s Jex Litten capitalised on another superb attacking move. This time, AJ Brimson provided the opening, allowing Litten to score England’s ninth try and take the tally beyond 50 points.

Fellow Hull KR team-mate Mikey Lewis then got in on the act, crossing for England’s tenth try with fewer than 20 minutes remaining.

England showed no signs of slowing down in the closing stages, as Young completed his hat-trick and Lewis added his second try of the match. Jack Welsby also produced a superb breakaway finish before Brimson rounded off the scoring, capping a commanding team performance.

The 82-0 triumph marked a resounding response from McDermott’s side, who delivered a statement performance in Perth to register their first win of the tournament heading into their final group game against PNG next weekend.

24 October 2026