Match Preview – England vs France
England celebrated a big win over Samoa in their opening World Cup match
We look at what is being said and team news ahead of Saturday’s Rugby League World Cup Group A clash between England and France and the University of Bolton Stadium (kick-off 5pm)…
McMeeken shrugs off England’s underdogs tag
Few could have predicted what was to come in the opening game of this year’s Rugby League World Cup which saw England storm to a 60-6 win over a hotly-tipped Samoa team in Newcastle.
It was a result which put the hosts in prime position to reach the quarter-finals and finish top of Group A, with matches against France and debutants Greece to come.
The first of those is against the French in Bolton on Saturday evening and England second row Mike McMeeken believes there is still plenty of improvement in the team despite the one-sided scoreline against Samoa.
“It was a great result on Saturday – one that wasn’t expected from people outside of our camp,” McMeeken told Sky Sports News.
“But internally, we knew what we were capable of and I thought on Saturday we executed it fairly well. We’ve been through the video and noticed we can improve in areas as well, which is exciting.
“I won’t bore you with the details, but defensively there are area and areas in attack where we could maybe have scored more points as well. It’s all positive, in a way, because it’s ways we can improve.”
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England’s Mike McMeeken says they still have areas they can improve in despite a big win over Samoa in their Rugby League World Cup opener.
Unlike their opening match, England are heavy favourites to win both remaining group games, and victory this weekend would extend their winning run against France to 21 games.
Even so, reigning champions Australia, world No 1 New Zealand and Tonga are being talked about more as potential contenders to lift the Paul Barriere Trophy. Yet McMeeken is happy to embrace England being seen as underdogs.
“We’ve got some quality players in our squad and that’s not just in that 17,” McMeeken said.
“Throughout the whole squad, we’ve got competition and it’s really positive to see, and it’s exciting to see where we can go. We’re not bothered about being underdogs.”
Frayssionous aims to end 41 years of hurt
You have to go back to 1981 to find the last time France beat England – discounting the 25-18 win over Great Britain in 1990 – when Herve Guiraud’s try and a penalty from Jose Moya sealed a narrow 5-1 win at Headingley.
It was a victory which saw them crowned European champions too, but the intervening years have not been kind to France when it comes to facing their old rivals.
They head to Bolton buoyed by a 34-12 win over Greece in their Group A opener on Monday though and head coach Laurent Frayssinous is adamant France can finally end a run of 20 games without a win against England.
“We want to beat England, we know we can beat England and we have waited a long time, but maybe that day will come on Saturday,” Frayssinous, who helped France reach the 2000 World Cup quarter-finals as a player, said.
“We are in a positive mood, we know England are a great side, but we are confident that we can challenge them in a few areas.
“There are a few things we need to improve on our last game against Greece, but we’ve worked hard on a game plan for this match, and we will play to our strengths.”
McMeeken, who is one of three players in the England World Cup squad who play their club rugby for French Super League side Catalans Dragons, expects a stiff examination as well.
“I’m sure we will be tested on Saturday,” McMeeken said. “I’ve trained with them and played with them throughout the whole year, so I know a lot of their strengths.
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Jon Wilkin says England’s performance against Samoa in the Rugby League World Cup was one of the best he has seen in many years
“I’ve got a lot of friends in that French team, so I hope they do extremely well in this competition, just not against us. Obviously on Saturday those friendships will be put on hold for 80 minutes.”
Team news
England are likely to be much changed from the team which beat Samoa, with Shaun Wane making five changes to his 19-man squad and promising to give all those who did not feature at St James’ Park a run-out against France.
Among those likely to start is winger Ryan Hall, who replaces Tommy Makinson in the squad for this match and has the opportunity to add to the 35 tries he has already scored in an England shirt.
“I’ll be thinking about the winning and how little we’ve done on the international stage,” Hall, one of five survivors from the team which lost 6-0 to Australia in the 2017 World Cup final, said.
Ryan Hall is set to return for England on the wing against France
“We’ve won a couple of tournaments against the Kiwis but it’s the World Cup and we’ve haven’t won that for 50 years. If I can score one try in the final and help us win, great, if I do something else on the field to help us win, that’s also great.
“Every second and every minute on that pitch counts for me, I’ll be doing everything I can to get my name on the team sheet for next week as well.”
Frayssinous has made just one change to his 19-man squad from the one which was named ahead of the win over Greece, with Gadwin Springer replacing Maxime Puech
Named squads
England: Sam Tomkins, Kallum Watkins, Herbie Farnworth, Ryan Hall, Jack Welsby, George Williams, Tom Burgess, Michael McIlorum, Luke Thompson, Elliott Whitehead, John Bateman, Victor Radley, Dom Young, Chris Hill, Andy Ackers, Marc Sneyd, Joe Batchelor, Mikolaj Oledzki, Kai Pearce-Paul.
France: Morgan Escare, Arthur Romano, Samisoni Langi, Matthieu Laguerre, Fouad Yaha, Arthur Mourgue, Tony Gigot, Jordan Dezaria, Alrix Da Costa, Lambert Belmas, Benjamin Jullien, Paul Seguier, Benjamin Garcia, Eloi Pelissier, Justin Sangare, Gadwin Springer, Mickael Goudemand, Corentin Le Cam, Cesar Rouge.
