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England’s Rugby League World Cup challenge could well be over, just 80 minutes after it started.
Brian McDermott’s hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals were all but shattered in his side’s first pool match in a brutal encounter in which Pacific Island physicality and passion ultimately earned Tonga a famous victory.
England displayed huge attacking courage with their offload strategy – in all, they made 26 – but their adventurous intent could not find the finishing touch and was not enough to topple a ferocious opposition defence in Perth. Despite excellent performances from captain George Williams and Dom Young, they were ultimately blown off HBF Park.
On their seventh attempt, this was Tonga’s first win over England and although this intense contest was for, so long, much closer than the scoreboard finally showed, there can be no doubting the excellence of Kristian Woolf’s team and the ruthlessness they displayed in the last quarter in which they never stopped tackling refused to stop coming.
There were only four points in it with less than 30 minutes to play, but superbly marshalled by stand-off Isaiya Katoa, they set themselves up to go deep into the draw. Tonga had beaten Australia and New Zealand and this completes the sweep of the top nations.
For England, having been beaten by Samoa in the World Cup four years ago, they must face up to the suspicions that they are arguably no longer in the top three countries in rugby league. There was the palpable sense of the old order being changed in a stadium packed with the red shirts of Tonga.
As England’s captain George Williams said in the build-up, this is a “mad” format, but now it is very simple. They must beat France and Papua New Guinea in their remaining two matches and do so heavily and pray that Tonga can beat Samoa in the last match of the pool stages. However, Samoa thumped France 78-4 on Friday, so even that avenue seems highly unlikely.
A determined, resilient and efficient Tongan display seals a historic victory over England.
Tonga are denied an extraordinary late score as Fifita makes a run from just over 30 metres out for the try line. However, the left winger’s hand narrowly crosses the line as he’s tackled by Brimson when he offloads to a teammate.
Williams’ offload is unsuccessful, giving Tonga a scrum as their defence holds firm once again.
England are up against it and are rapidly running out of time. Their plight worsens as Pierce-Paul mishandles in a scrum, giving Katoa the penalty, which he flawlessly kicks through the posts to make amends for his previous miss. Tonga now lead 30-12.
Williams commits a knock-on and Tonga win the subsequent scrum on the 40-metre line. Tonga motor forward and they’re now five metres out. Brimson is then caught in the ruck and Katoa threads a grubber kick through to Olakau’atu, who pounces on the bouncing ball before getting over the try line. Katoa misses a kick for the first time in the match as Tonga fail to add the conversion.
England hit the front after scoring that try. It’s an incredible phase of play as Katoa defends valiantly before Fifita crunches into a challenge on Young for the sixth tackle to end England’s spell of pressure.
Williams misses Brimson out and finds Savala with a piercing pass. Savala swiftly offloads to the pacey Young, who sprints to the try line to reduce the deficit. Savala adds the extras to give England hope. You cannot take your eyes off this one!
The half-back can’t stop scoring as he kicks a clinical penalty through the posts.
Three Tonga players ruthlessly close down Eckersley, who fails to offload. Tonga celebrate this like a try and take a line dropout. Havard is then penalised for a dangerous tackle as the Tonga pressure ramps up.
England have lost their discipline, allowing Tonga straightforward passage upfield and with two tries in a few minutes are now up against it. McDermott will go to his bench, but this is ominous.
Disaster strikes for England! Tonga benefit off a penalty and a piercing grubber kick from Lolohea finds Koula, who gets over the line to score. Katoa adds the extras in style and England now have a mountain to climb.
Incredible scenes! Olakau’atu pounces on a loose ball inside England’s 10-metre line from a kick that bizarrely bounces off Nsemba and bags the try. Katoa keeps up his 100% kicking record in this game by recording his fourth effort through the posts, restoring Tonga’s 10-point cushion.
You guessed it, Hopoate makes another fantastic catch to keep England at bay.
Captain’s challenge! This time it’s Tonga and it’s unsuccessful. Then, a knock-on allows Tonga to kick, but Hopoate is having a sensational game at the back as he catches the ball under immense pressure then wins a penalty to give Tonga a brief spell of breathing room.
It’s a wonderful move from England as they open up a glaring gap in Tonga’s previously unassailable defence through Savala’s positive run. Brimson is there in support to receive the pass and he can make a simple, unchallenged run to the try line. Savala adds the extras, with England closing the gap on Tonga to just four points.
Nsemba intercepts a Tongan offload as England attempt to fashion their first meaningful passage of play following the break. Smith kicks on the last tackle, with Brimson and Eckersley chasing, but the excellent Hopoate catches it with such confidence. Tonga eventually kick it to clear as England have to craft another attacking plan.
Tonga are 40 metres out and kick on their sixth tackle. Eckersley collects with confidence in the air and drives forward to release the second-half pressure on England.
Smith’s kick gets us under way for the second half. Can England produce a memorable comeback or will Tonga protect their lead?
England simply must score the next try. Yet despite their adventurous attacking play - Brian McDermott’s men have so far made 10 offloads - this Tonga defence is proving so hard to break down. It’s been a brutal encounter and although it is a low scoring game, it has been high on thrills.
What an incredible first half! England have thrown everything at Tonga, who have defended unbelievably and punished their opponents at the other end.
England in trouble! Tonga kick as they attempt to gain territory, with Watene-Zelezniak chasing down Eckersley. The right winger is tripped by Farnworth as he attempts to apply pressure, giving Tonga a penalty. From 27 metres out, Katoa kicks between the posts, opening up a 10-point advantage.
Tonga’s defensive display has been extraordinary. They’ve done everything to prevent England from scoring. England have enjoyed plenty of territory inside Tonga’s 20-metre line, but a much-needed try is proving elusive. Havard is penalised for failing to offload as Tonga scramble so effectively and win a scrum.
Again, ahead of the sixth tackle, Williams tries to slip a kick through towards the try line, but Watene-Zelezniak concedes the penalty and England have a scrum. Tonga are quickly penalised once again for Utoikamanu’s ruck infringement. Tonga desperately protect their try line. There’s a high tackle on Farnworth, giving England a tap-and-go penalty.
Captain’s challenge as England question two back-to-back knock-on calls! Young is deemed to have knocked-on the kick, with England trying to contain Tonga inside their own 20-metre line. As the loose ball trickles towards Williams, the referee rules that the captain committed a knock-on offence and England lose their challenge, giving Tonga a scrum.
Tonga concede a couple of penalties in quick succession as England reach the 10-metre line thanks to Farnworth’s dash. On their last play before the sixth tackle, Brimson tries to find the teammate with a grubber kick, but it’s unsuccessful and Tonga survive.
England will be wondering how they are 8-0 down after being the better team in the first 25 minutes. They matched Tonga’s physicality and showed some real adventure with their offloads. Need to hang in there until half time.
England are penalised for Smith’s contact from a kick as Tonga force yet another mistake from their opponents. Katoa’s influential display continues as he bags the penalty in style.
Katoa pulls the strings and passes to Utoikamanu, who finds a gap in England’s defence to the side of Pearce-Paul and dashes to the line to score the game’s first try. He’s only just entered the action. What a brilliant introduction into the match. Katoa adds the extras and Tonga have a six-point lead, after heroically absorbing a sustained period of English pressure.
Does Toia commit an illegal challenge on Farnworth in the air as he goes to catch a kick? The referee doesn’t think so and Toai avoids the sin bin. England retain possession because of an earlier penalty and have a tap-and-go just 10-metres out. It’s wave after wave of English pressure, but they can’t find a breakthrough past this stubborn Tonga defence as Taumalolo steals back possession.
England go close but fall at the final hurdle! Radley’s loose pass lets Tonga off the hook on the last tackle as England looked destined to score in that attacking phase of play.
Successful captain’s challenge! Tonga’s Taumalolo is penalised for a dangerous tackle and England have possession 30 metres out from the try line.
Tonga are forced into a first-half change as Fainu is replaced Lolohea. You worry the five-eighth’s immediate future at this tournament could be in doubt because of that injury.
Brimson sneaks through Tonga’s backline with a great break, taking England well over the 40-metre line. The six-tackle limit allows England to reach the edge of Tonga’s 10-metre line, but as Young dashes for the try line his pass is intercepted.
Watene-Zelezniak’s perfectly-timed tackle on Eckersley forces a knock-on, giving Tonga a scrum. They keep the ball moving around the 10-metre line, but Fifita mistimes his pass to winger, who was ready to dash to the try line, but the attack disappears.
Fainu executes a brilliant try-saving tackle on Pearce-Paul to stop the second row from reaching the try line.
Eckersley chases a kick and smashes Watene-Zelezniak with a brilliant tackle. England are doing well to pin Tonga back inside their own half. There’s a high tackle from Fonua-Blake on Brimson. England are 25 metres out.
On the verge of the sixth tackle, England pump a kick towards Tonga’s try line. However, England concede a penalty after an offside in the 10-metre line, relieving the pressure on Tonga.
Some absolutely huge hits in the early exchanges. Unsurprisingly, this Test is being played a ferocious pace.
We are under way in Perth. Can England start their 2026 World Cup campaign with a win over Tonga?
England intensely observe a spine-tingling rendition of the Sipi Tau. The atmosphere and excitement are both building tremendously.
Difficult to overstate the importance of this first pool match as far as England’s World Cup aspirations are concerned. Without any disrespect to other teams, this is all but a quarter-final. It’s a tight one to call, with Tonga, packed with NRL talent, rated by the bookies as slight favourites. But England have beaten this opposition six times in a row and Brian McDermott’s team has what it takes to light up Perth.
Both squads are out on the pitch and receive a welcoming reception from the HBF Park crowd. The national anthems will commence imminently.
Their World Cup opener has started in style, with a huge 70-6 win, which included 13 tries, against Wales.
Australia 24 New Zealand 22
Samoa 78 France 4
Speaking on his star-studded and experienced squad, the head coach said: “You’ve got to select a squad that you think can get the job done. There are some fantastic teams that are populated by a lot of players who come from the NRL and it’s a fantastic competition as well [referring to the World Cup].
“I reckon this squad can do something special. My gut tells me that this group could achieve something special. I find it really easy to speak to this group. I find it really easy to coach this group. The squad that I’ve picked is full of players that can play in finals. A lot of them have won finals and a lot of them can play under pressure. We have a squad that has a good history of doing that.”
“We’ve been building up for this for months and months, so we arrived in Perth fairly well prepared and the players knew that as well, they feel that, when I’m talking about and showing vision on what we’re likely to face and showing vision on what we should and shouldn’t do. It’s not the first time they’ve seen that vision and it’s not the first time I’ve been speaking about that.”
“You’ve got deliver in finals and you’ve got to deliver when the pressure is on. You don’t get another weekend to review the game. You’ve got to give it there and then. The Tonga crowd for sure, they do bring an atmosphere, but I’m confident that the players have got the metal inside of them to handle them.”
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of England’s opening Rugby League World Cup 2026 outing as they face Tonga at HBF Park in Perth.
England have come agonisingly close to lifting the trophy in recent tournaments, losing the final to Australia in 2017, before being edged out by one point (27-26) by Samoa in a thrilling semi-final on home soil in 2021.
Head coach Brian McDermott will take charge of his first tournament as England return to competitive action for the first time since last Autumn’s Ashes series.
Despite the excitement around the World Cup, McDermott remains grounded and is aware of the challenges ahead for his side.
“We’ve got to take Tonga on, we’ve got to meet fire with fire in that regard, but there’s a version of doing it where you don’t just stay doing that for 80 minutes,” he said.
“They are physically going to be a challenge for us, and we’ve got to remain clever and smart while dealing with their physicality.
“I think to go deep in the tournament we have to do something special. There needs to be some moments where we come through a level of adversity, levels of fatigue, and levels of turning them away from our try-line. It’s a big challenge.”
This has been some significant team news as Morgan Smithies was forced to withdraw from England squad due to injury, with Kallum Watkins drafted in as his replacement. However, the 35-year-old is not in the squad for this one. Morgan Knowles is another injured absentee so Luke Thompson starts instead.
Mikey Lewis won’t feature today either, having been left out of the squad, and Jack Welsby is on the bench. George Williams captains England, while Zach Eckersley, Hugo Savala and Max King are all poised for their international debuts.
England dominate the head-to-head record, winning all six of their previous encounters against Tonga, including the 2017 World Cup semi-final and the three-match series in 2023. But can they deliver with all eyes on their 2026 tournament opener in Perth?
Kick-off for this Pool B clash is at 10:05 BST, with team news following now.
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