England needed something special to keep their Rugby League World Cup dreams alive and, oh là là, how they delivered a record 14-try demolition of France in Perth.

It was a record win against their cross-channel neighbours and in their quest to achieve an unlikely spot in their semi-finals was exactly what was required. Because of the opening defeat against Tonga, Brian McDermott’s men remain the underdogs to advance, but at the very least, this high-octane performance has made the final weekend of pool matches interesting.

With Samoa beating Papua New Guinea 64-6 earlier on Saturday, England’s task was put into stark and imposing focus. The Pacific Islanders have a points difference of plus-132. Courtesy of this mauling, England’s is plus-64. So they must see off Papua New Guinea by a big number next Friday and then pray that Tonga defeat Samoa two days later. That is their only route through.

In truth, that is as much as McDermott could hope after their initial shortcomings, as they seek to avoid missing out on the last four for the first time in the World Cup’s 72-year history.

It should be remembered that this was only McDermott’s second game in charge and, even allowing for the poor opposition, they were dramatically improved. It is incredible to think that England took 22 minutes to break the deadlock, when the ever-excellent Dom Young burst through. From there, they averaged a try every four or so minutes, with France looking increasingly forlorn and fatigued.

There were hat-tricks for both Young and Herbie Farnworth but it was AJ Brimson who stole the show, making five line-breaks, seven tackle-breaks and contributing to the scoreboard with three assists and, eventually, a well-deserved try when he cut through the blue defence in the dying minutes. With this player-of-the-match display, Brimson surely made the full-back position his own.

“We had no choice but to deliver a performance like this to give ourselves a chance.” Brimson said. “The first 20 minutes were a grind, and there was pressure on us after the Samoa result. But credit to us, we kept calm and now we can look forward to next week.”

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