England booked their place in the Rugby League World Cup semi-finals after a scintillating performance in front of a packed-out and raucous DW Stadium, thrashing Papua New Guinea 46-6.
It was a true masterclass from the host nation and in the presence of royalty, with the Princess Of Wales in attendance for today’s double-header in Wigan, England put on a truly royal show.
The result concludes a blockbuster afternoon for England’s hopes in this year’s tournament, with the women’s side having already put Canada to the sword with a sensational 54-4 win in their Group A match earlier.
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Shaun Wane’s side were off to a flyer courtesy of Tom Burgess, who powered his way over the line to give England their first try of the match in the 6th minute. Tommy Makinson made no mistake with the conversion to give the hosts an early 6-0 lead.
England’s dream start continued with a second try just two minutes later, this time through Makinson after some fantastic play from Sam Tomkins whose deft kick found its way behind the PNG defence. The St Helens winger’s resulting kick however was too wide.
It was one-way traffic and Dom Young’s ninth try of the tournament threatened to turn the tie into a rout just 15 minutes in. The Newcastle Knights star was played in after another great kick from Tomkins saw the ball knocked to Kallum Watkins who left Young with some easy work to do on the outside. Makinson’s conversion once again fell just wide.
Despite some wayward kicking, Makinson put more points on the board with his second try of the game and England’s fourth in under 20 minutes. George Williams’ chip over the top left Makinson jumping over his marker before spinning to the line.
It was turning into a real statement from Wane’s men and they were simply bullying their opposition off the park. England’s fifth try wasn’t far behind and this time it was Williams. The move began with Victor Radley who created space for John Bateman to break down the middle, feed Watkins and set up Williams to slide in from five metres out.
Watkins was next up on the scoresheet with Radley once again instrumental, spotting a free Young on the outside who offloaded to Watkins to get over the line. Makinson then sealed his hat-trick after just 26 minutes and, with his fourth successful conversion in a row, brought the tie to a commanding 38-0 heading into the break.
The relentless energy of the game dampened in the second-half but England’s iron-clad grip of the tie remained and player of the match Makinson got his fourth try of the day in the 57th minute. England had numbers and space on the left flank and two rapid fire passes gave Makinson the room on the wing to slide over the line.
Papua New Guinea finally had something to cheer with ten minutes to go when Jimmy Ngutlik got himself over the line for a consolation try. Rhyse Martin had no problems with the following conversion.
To put the cherry on top of a landmark victory, Makinson put his name into the record books to become the first England player to score five tries in one match. England will now meet either Tonga or Samoa in the next round.
Australia booked their spot in the final four on Friday night, thumping Lebanon 48-4 at the John Smith’s Stadium in Huddersfield. The semi-final action continues tonight (7.30pm) as New Zealand take on Fiji at Hull’s MKM Stadium, while on Sunday (2.30pm), Tonga and Samoa collide in the tournament’s first real heavyweight contest at the Halliwell Jones Stadium in Warrington.
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