Sports
England rugby league sides face early World Cup exits after defeats in Australia
October 30, 2026 at 12:26 PM · Updated 17m ago
Coverage
3 reports · over 4 hours
BNBBC News
Rugby League World Cup 2026: Set up to fail? Where England's World Cup campaign went wrong
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TGThe Guardian
England need miracle to stay in World Cup after failing to crush Papua New Guinea
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BNBBC News
England on brink of Rugby League World Cup exit after failing to notch big enough win over PNG
(opens the publisher’s site)England men failed to overturn a huge points deficit despite beating Papua New Guinea, while the women were eliminated after losing to Samoa.
- England beat Papua New Guinea 34-12 in Wollongong but fell short of the margin needed to reach the semi-finals.
- England led 22-0 after 22 minutes before errors derailed their chase, leaving a 46-point Tonga win over Samoa as their only route to the last four.
- England's women lost 6-24 to Samoa, failing to qualify from a World Cup group for the first time.
- Papua New Guinea scored two tries in the second half after England's error rate reached 21 with a 57% completion rate.
- The 2026 World Cup could be the first in which neither England's men's nor women's team reaches the semi-finals, ending a men's run since 1954.
- Head coach Brian McDermott had only six months to prepare the England men's side for the tournament.