By Ian Laybourn
AAP
4:12pm Wed 13th November, 2013
Star centre Kallum Watkins says England are ready to match the physicality of any of the other seven teams left in the Rugby League World Cup.
The ferocious, often brutal, tackling of the Pacific Island nations in particular has been one of the abiding memories of the tournament so far as it enters the knock-out stages.
The robust challenges of the Tongans and Fijiians have drawn gasps from the English crowds but some of the biggest hits were recorded in Perpignan on Monday night when Samoa came out firing against France.
Watkins was impressed with the way the French stood up to the often illegal tackles and says England will need to fight fire with fire when they play France in Saturday night's quarter-final at Wigan.
"It was quite a tough and physical game," Watkins said. "They will be quite sore from that.
"But that's what you expect of all the teams. You've got to be that way and you have got to take it as well.
"That's what we expect for the weekend and hopefully we can match that."
After beating the French 44-6 and 48-4 in last year's autumn internationals with the nucleus of the side that will be on duty at the DW Stadium, Steve McNamara's men are overwhelming favourites to secure a place in the Wembley semi-final double header.
However, Watkins is warning his team-mates to prepare for a sterner test from the Catalan Dragons-dominated French side and reckons England will need to improve on Saturday's 34-12 win over Fiji if they are to keep alive their hopes of lifting the crown.
"We know what they're about," he said. "They're physical and have some experience through Super League and the Catalan Dragons.
"With us, we've got to focus on what we've got to do. Last week the first half wasn't what we wanted to get to but it was calm at half-time and in the second half we turned it around.
"We knew we were doing the right thing at certain times but in attack we weren't quite there. In the second half we certainly showed that.
"We matched them physically as we knew it was going to be a physical game but in attack we tried too hard at times. In the second half we were more direct and comfortable with what we were doing and scored some great tries."
By Ian Laybourn
AAP
4:47pm Thu 14th November, 2013
Wigan forward Liam Farrell is hoping for a hint from England coach Steve McNamara as he waits to discover if he'll get to play in this weekend's World Cup quarter-final on his home ground.
The 23-year-old second rower enjoyed the proudest moment of his career when he made his Test debut in last Saturday's 34-12 win over Fiji in Hull but says that will be at least matched if he keeps his spot for Saturday night's last-eight clash with France at the DW Stadium.
Farrell was in England's 19-man squad for each of the first two games of the World Cup but was one of those omitted when McNamara finalised his line-up.
"It was quite tough," he admitted. "When he said to me I wasn't playing against Australia, I found it quite hard but, after a day or so, I was behind the lads completely.
"Then he hinted to me a couple of times earlier in the week that I would be playing against Fiji but it never really clicked.
"I was over the moon to get my chance. I only got 25 minutes but I was still playing for my country and hopefully I might get another shot this weekend.
"It would be the ultimate, to do that in front of a lot of Wiganers. It would be up there with making my debut."
There could be as many as six Wigan players involved when McNamara announces his 19-man squad on Thursday afternoon, with prop Lee Mossop and winger Josh Charnley hoping for recalls .
Charnley, who scored his 44th try of the year in England's opening match against Australia, is hoping to get the nod after losing out to Tom Briscoe for the last two games.
"Everyone wants to play so we are all fighting for spots and, if anything, it helps us play better as individuals," Charnley said.
"I have got to train hard this week to get the nod because Tom Briscoe and Ryan Hall have been good. There is a lot of competition in the squad, but if I do get to start it will be exciting to play at Wigan for the last time this year."
England are firm favourites to secure a place in the Wembley semi-finals but Farrell says they will not underestimate the challenge of the French.
"When I look at France, I see a lot of Catalans and they're a tough, aggressive team," Farrell said.
"They use their forwards a lot. They are big but, if we match it with our forwards, I think we will give ourselves a good chance of winning.
"I think it will be similar to the way we played against Fiji. They were big and aggressive. I think we've got a forward pack to destroy most teams in the competition."
By James Martin
AAP
12:57pm Fri 15th November, 2013
Sam Tomkins will get the chance to wave goodbye to Wigan once and for all as England face France in the Rugby League World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday.
The 24-year-old is set to join the Warriors for the 2014 NRL season from Super League outfit Wigan after a world-record fee was agreed in September.
Tomkins enjoyed what was to be a fine final season with Wigan, claiming the Super League and Challenge Cup double, while England's bid for World Cup glory is back on track.
After defeat by Australia in their opening match of the tournament, England booked a quarter-final clash at Wigan's DW Stadium following victories over first Ireland and then Fiji.
Now they will face France, who placed third in their pool, and Tomkins, not expecting to play in Wigan again so soon, wants to mark the occasion by delivering England to the semi-finals in style.
"I am extremely excited to play at the DW Stadium again. It is a fantastic venue and I have got nothing but happy memories from my time there," said Tomkins.
"It will be nice to go back, I was not sure if I would get the opportunity to play there again and to be given the chance so soon is brilliant.
"Our performances have not been brilliant throughout the tournament but I think that we have shown for large parts in all of the games that we can compete with anyone and we are looking to build and improve at this stage."
France arrive in Wigan after a group campaign that started with a narrow 9-8 win over Papua New Guinea before losing 48-0 to defending champions New Zealand and going down 22-6 to Samoa.
And France's English coach Richard Agar knows they will have to be far better if they are to give England a run for their money.
"We have got to improve. We did some really good things in the first 40 minutes of the game against Samoa but the level of our performance in the second half was why the scoreboard read like it did," said Agar.
"We will need a big effort and a big lift for the weekend but if we can play our best football on the day, who knows?"
While the English look to have shaken off their pre-tournament disruptions to really hit their stride, the disappointing French have been thoroughly unconvincing and lucky to have scraped through to the quarters at all, with just one win from three starts.
The English mixed it strongly with the Aussies in the tournament opener before going down by eight points, but then were far too strong for Ireland (42-nil) and Fiji (34-12).
Meanwhile the French side started the tournament by losing their trial against surprise packets the USA, scraped a one-point win off an unlucky Papua New Guinea side, were blown off the park by a rampant Kiwis outfit 48-nil,before being comprehensively outplayed by Samoa 22-6.
It means the French barely made it out of their group, finishing on two points from their one win with a shocking for and against, finishing ahead of only the luckless and winless Kumuls in Group B.
Their poor group stage performance has consigned them to a sudden-death quarter final against England (they would have met Fiji instead, had the Bati finished above Samoa).
It's a tall ask, no doubt, but they'll have to pick themselves up from a very physical encounter against Samoa to brace themselves for the monster Kiwis forward pack.
That Samoa game saw Mose Masoe sin-binned for repeated team infringements and two Samoans suspended (although Suaso Sue was successful in having his tripping suspension overturned on appeal) highlighting the physical nature of that battle.
England have brought back winger Josh Charnley for his second game, having not played him since the Australia game, with Tom Briscoe missing out. He is the only new face among the 19-man squad who did not feature in the last outing against Fiji.
Watch Out England
Young fullback Morgan Escare is warming to his task – after making just 47 metres against PNG, Escare ran for 79 against New Zealand then 111 against Samoa, with six tackle breaks and a try.
With 19 four-pointers in 20 Super League and Challenge Cup appearances for the Catalans Dragons, Escare could be just about to show England what he is capable of.
Watch Out France
After missing the Ireland rout as he paid his penance for a swinging arm on Kangaroo Sam Thaiday, British enforcer Sam Burgess showed exactly why he is considered one of the game's premier forwards, whether in the front or back row.
Slammin' Sam turned in one of the best individual performances of the tournament to date against the outclassed Fijians, who had no answer to his size, strength and mobility.
His relentless runs earned him 182 metres from 21 hit-ups in 62 quality minutes – a big workload for a starting front-rower. Add in eight tackle breaks, four offloads, three line breaks and a try, and the tricolours can consider themselves warned that Big Sam is out to make an impact.
Key Match-Up
As much as the French forwards will have a task against the likes of the Burgess brothers and James Graham, the decisive match-up could be between France's battered halves combination – likely to be Thomas Bosc and William Bartheau – against Rangi Chase, Kevin Sinfield and Gareth Widdop off the bench.
Bartheau shouldered the bulk of the kicking responsibility in the win over PNG, while the task was left largely to Bosc in the other two matches.
England have shared the load around more evenly but crucially, Sinfield and Chase have a couple of try assists each, while the French playmakers have none – and they'll need to get that stat off the duck here to overhaul the men in white.
Televised
7mate – Live, Sunday from 6.30am (NSW); 5.30am (Qld).
The Way We See It
France just haven't looked like a side capable of troubling the top teams in this tournament, while England clearly are warming to the task.
If England continue to play to the level they have been, the tricolours will need a massive improvement just to get close – and we don't see it happening.
By Michael Oliver
AAP
9:31am Sun 17th November, 2013
Josh Charnley scored twice in England's rout of France in the World Cup quarter-finals.
Ryan Hall stormed back to the top of the Rugby League World Cup try-scoring chart as England defeated France 34-6 on Saturday to book a semi-final clash with New Zealand.
Hall had Brett Morris and Jarryd Hayne pull level with him on six prior to kick off at the DW Stadium in Wigan after both scored four in Australia's own quarter-final rout of the United States.
However Hall was to go back top as he dotted down twice in the first half of England's comfortable win over France, Josh Charnley matching the 25-year-old with a double of his own.
Sean O'Loughlin and Brett Ferres scored in the second half as France stood firm for the most part while Sam Tomkins' farewell to Wigan ended with a sin-binning in the dying moments.
England now go on to Wembley to face defending champions New Zealand, who are yet to be beaten at the World Cup so far and beat Scotland 40-4 in their quarter-final.
France lost New Zealand-born hooker Kane Bentley to an injury to his left calf inside three minutes but took a shock lead through Vincent Duport.
Sebastien Raguin set up the 25-year-old with a fine offload and Duport powered his way over with Thomas Bosc kicking from the touchline to make it 6-0.
The lead lasted just six minutes though as, from a scrum, Tomkins dazzled the France defence, skipping across three, and feeding Charnley in the corner.
Kevin Sinfield slotted a fine kick to level the score before a break from Rangi Chase in the 18th minute allowed England to build a lead that they wouldn't surrender.
Chase set off on an initial break before another moment of brilliance from Tomkins, as he danced around again and picked out red-hot Hall for England's second try.
Sinfield again converted excellently from the touchline before Charnley grabbed his second in a repeat of his first - Kallum Watkins the provider this time instead of Tomkins.
But Hall wasn't to be outdone by Charnley and grabbed his second and eighth of the tournament after James Graham and James Roby combined to launch England swiftly up the field.
Sinfield converted having missed after Charnley's try and did the honours again as it took England seven minutes of the second half to score their fifth of the match.
Chase kicked into the left corner on the last tackle, Hall did superbly to flick backwards with Leroy Cudjoe sweeping up and allowing O'Loughlin to cross to make it 26-6.
However, for all their free-flowing attacks in the first half, England were forced to defend for much of the second as France probed to add to their solitary try.
Damien Cardace almost lit up the final 10 minutes after capitalising on poor handling from Charnley however England hauled him in to keep France at bay.
However there was a regrettable moment as Tomkins, saying his farewell to Wigan as he joins New Zealand Warriors after the World Cup, was sent to the bin for a professional foul in the aftermath.
Ferres had the final say of the match, however, with Sinfield slotting a kick from right in front of the posts, his fifth from six, as it ended 34-6 to England.
1. Sam Tomkins: Blistering start from the Warriors-bound fullback, setting up England's first try with an offload and their second with a cutout pass. Also acrobatically defused a potential 40/20 to highlight his all-round value before finishing the game in the sin bin. 8 2. Josh Charnley: Bagged himself a couple of classical winger's tries. 7.5 3. Kallum Watkins: Good offload set up Charnley's second, but produced four errors. 6 4. Leroy Cudjoe: Involved in the lead up to Hall's second try in a solid game overall. 6.5 5. Ryan Hall: Produced another two tries and an athletic bat back for O'Loughlin to score. Didn't deserve to have five errors against his name. 7.5 6. Rangi Chase: Mixed game. He was the most dangerous half on the field with ball in hand but produced five errors as England failed to twist the knife. Summed up England's night. 7 7. Kevin Sinfield: Strong kicking game and a calming presence around the ruck. Controlled the game well. 7
8. James Graham: Shaky start with a couple of infringements but was easily the best forward on the park, his powerful runs (for a team high 144 metres) and ball playing terrorising the French defenders.
His team-high 25 tackles helped repel a number of French raids. 9 9. Michael McIlorum: Barely sighted as Roby got the bulk of dummy half duties. 5 10. Chris Hill: Another great game from the unsung hero of England's pack with 96 metres and 23 tackles. 8 11. Sam Burgess: Didn't quite have the field day he had against Fiji but still produced some damaging runs and was always dangerous with 124 metres and three tackle breaks. 7.5 12. Ben Westwood: Quieter performance than we're used to with England having less tackling to do. 6 13. Sean O'Loughlin: Defended strongly and earned a try in the second half. 7 14. James Roby: Made a great run which led to Hall's second try, and provided some impetus from dummy half. 7 15. George Burgess: The best of the benchies with a bulldozing 107 metres from 11 runs. 7 16. Brett Ferres: Came alive late in the game and strolled over for the easiest of tries. 6.5 17. Liam Farrell: Not heavily used off the bench, was reliable in his time on field. 6
FRANCE
1. Morgan Escare: England's weight of possession and good kicking kept the fullback quiet. Fluffed a potential try early in second
half. 5 2. Damien Cardace: Also largely kept quiet by England, outside of one or two searching second-half runs. 6 3. Jean-Phillippe Baile: Largely anonymous in the centres. 5 4. Vincent Duport: Brilliant strong effort for the first try of the game. 6 5. Clint Greenshields: Tried a couple of things in attack that didn't come off, finishing with six errors. 5 6. Thomas Bosc: Tried hard but a lack of polish with his kicks meant France struggled to convert opportunities. 6 7. William Barthau: Much like his halves partner, poor kicking and lack of finishing ability meant his side struggled to score points. 6 8. Jamal Fakir: Solid while on the field, one good offload could have led to something. 6 9. Kane Bentley: Forced off inside two minutes with a calf injury. No score 10. Remi Casty: Another big all-round game from the Roosters-bound prop with 92 metres and 29 tackles. 7 11. Olivier Elima: Did plenty of tackling but little running, and produced several unforced errors and penalties. 5 12. Sebastien Raguin: Powerful start to the game, with some strong early runs. 6.5 13. Gregory Mounis: Produced a good early offload that meant France were able to play from in front. 6.5 14. Eloi Pelissier: Played more minutes than he'd have been expecting, tried to spark his side in attack. 6.5 15. Younes Khattabi: Threw one pass over the sideline on play one with France attacking. 5
16. Antoni Maria: A few good runs off the bench. 5.5 17. Mickael Simon: Got through some defence off the bench. 6
