England are braced to face a resurgent France when they fight to keep their slim Rugby League World Cup hopes alive in Perth on Saturday morning.

Brian McDermott’s men go into the game knowing their only realistic hope of reaching the semi-finals is a better points difference than Samoa – assuming Samoa lose to Tonga in their last group match next week.

A improbable scenario has been rendered more unlikely by Samoa’s thumping 78-4 win over France last week – and recalled England winger Matty Ashton admits they will be steeled against enduring a second straight washout scoreline.

Ashton, who will replace Zach Eckersley in the only change to McDermott’s starting 13, said: “We’ll expect a different France this week.

“We’re expecting a big defensive display. Any team that concedes 70-odd points is going to be focused on defence, so we’re expecting a tough, physical game.

“I don’t think anything changes in our process. Obviously we all know points have got to be scored but we’re not going to do that without sticking to our processes.

“We can’t take France lightly, we’ve got to stick to our basics and a lot of the stuff we were doing in the Tonga game but obviously improve and hopefully the points will pick up.”

England eased past France 40-8 in their most recent meeting at the 2024 World Cup and despite featured a majority of Super League-based players, the French have consistently struggled on the international stage.

While hitting 70 points is unlikely, McDermott will take heart from his side’s general performance against Tonga last week, and he believes it is best not to focus on the prospect of a landslide points win.

“We’re aware that if we’re to go through we have to win big, but I don’t think any coaches think about winning big,” said McDermott.

“Most coaches are thinking about going into the game and nailing the start and that’s what we intend to do. We don’t have a strategy for when we get to 30, 40, 50 points in front. We’re not talking about that, we’re talking about getting it right against France.”

Barring improbable results elsewhere, England’s hopes of progression rest on Tonga beating Samoa next week and ensuring the second semi-final slot from the combined B and C groups will go down to points difference.

Tonga are already guaranteed to finish above England due to two wins and a better head-to-head record, so a win for Samoa in next week’s clash would lift both Pacific island teams beyond England’s reach.