IRL Men's Rugby League World Cup : Pool B & C

Fri 30th October 2026   - KO  20:05 - WIN Stadium, Wollongong , Australia

England

34

FT

12

Half Time
24 - 0

Papua New Guinea

Tries

Matty ASHTON (5)
Alexander BRIMSON (11)
Dom YOUNG (18)
Harry SMITH (20)
Morgan KNOWLES (68)
Michael LEWIS (80)

Dudley DOTOI (44)
Gairo VORO (50)

Goals

Hugo SAVALA (4/5)
Harry SMITH (1/2)

Rhyse MARTIN (2/2)

Match Preview | PNG face England in last group game of Men's World Cup

It’s third against fourth in Pool B & C of the IRL Men’s Rugby League World Cup on Friday as England take on Papua New Guinea in both sides’ final group game.

England must beat Papua New Guinea on Friday and hope Tonga defeat Samoa on Sunday to reach the semi-finals. After losing 30-12 to Tonga, Brian McDermott’s side kept their hopes alive with an 82-0 win over France. If Samoa win against Tonga on Sunday, England’s fate will come down to points difference. However, a Tonga victory against would see England eliminated.

Papua New Guinea face a similar challenge but have a worse points difference than England, Tonga and Samoa. They would need Samoa to beat Tonga and would also likely need a significant victory over England to stand any chance of progressing.

England make two changes to their starting thirteen as Jez Litten and Morgan Knowles both come in to start, whilst PNG make a handful of changes from their defeat last time out to Samoa with Nene MacDonald, Josh Feledy, Luca Moretti and Liam Horne all coming in to start.

England (squad): AJ BRIMSON, Hugo SAVALA, Herbert FARNWORTH, Matty ASHTON, George WILLIAMS, Harry SMITH, Max KING, Jez LITTEN, Luke THOMPSON, Junior NSEMBA, Kai PEARCE-PAUL, Morgan KNOWLES, Michael LEWIS, Sam WALTERS, Ethan HAVARD, Victor RADLEY, Ben CURRIE, Jack WELSBY, Brad O'NIELL, Zach ECKERSLEY, Kallum WATKINS, Dom YOUNG

Papua New Guinea (squad): Zac LAYBUTT, Robert DERBY, Josh FELEDY, Nene MACDONALD, Dudley DOTOI, Gairo VORO, Bailey BIONDI-ODO, Epel KAPINIAS, Edwin IPAPE, Luca MORETTI, Rhyse MARTIN, Nixon PUTT, Liam HORNE, Finley GLARE, Jacob TAULANI, Robert MATHIAS, Sanny WABO, Valentine RICHARD, Zev JOHN, Morea MOREA, Rodrick TAI, Alex MAX

27 October 2026
1 Alexander BRIMSON
Full Back
Zac LAYBUTT 1
2 Dom YOUNG
Right Wing
Robert DERBY 2
3 Hugo SAVALA
Right Centre
Josh FELEDY 3
4 Herbert FARNWORTH
Left Centre
Robert MATHIAS 4
5 Matty ASHTON
Left Wing
Dudley DOTOI 5
6 George WILLIAMS
Stand Off
Gairo VORO 6
7 Harry SMITH
Scrum Half
Bailey BIONDI-ODO 7
8 Max KING
Prop
Epel KAPINIAS 8
9 Jez LITTEN
Hooker
Liam HORNE 9
10 Luke THOMPSON
Prop
Valentine RICHARD 10
11 Junior NSEMBA
Second Row
Rhyse MARTIN 11
12 Kai PEARCE-PAUL
Second Row
Nixon PUTT 12
13 Morgan KNOWLES
Loose Forward
Luca MORETTI 13
14 Michael LEWIS
Int 1
Nene MACDONALD 14
15 Sam WALTERS
Int 2
Finley GLARE 15
16 Ethan HAVARD
Int 3
Jacob TAULANI 16
17 Brad O'NIELL
Int 4
Sanny WABO 17
18 Zach ECKERSLEY
Int 5
Zev JOHN 18
19 Kallum WATKINS
Int 6
Alex MAX 19
Match Report | England Keep Semi-Final Hopes Alive with Win Over Papua New Guinea

England kept their hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the 2026 Men’s IRL Rugby League World Cup alive with a 34-12 victory over Papua New Guinea in Wollongong.

The final group-stage fixture was a must-win for England, who needed victory to maintain their hopes of progressing to the last four. However, their fate remains out of their hands, with Sunday’s clash between Tonga and Samoa set to determine whether they advance.

England made a sensational start, racing into a 22-0 lead inside the opening 20 minutes.

Warrington winger Matty Ashton opened the scoring, finishing superbly out wide before full-back AJ Brimson continued his impressive World Cup campaign by crossing for England’s second try after just 11 minutes.

Dom Young was next to get on the scoresheet, claiming his fifth try of the tournament, before Wigan half-back Harry Smith capped a devastating opening spell by racing away to score England’s fourth.

Brimson added a penalty goal on the stroke of half-time to send England into the break with a commanding 24-0 advantage.

Papua New Guinea responded with renewed determination after the restart and began to put England under pressure. Dudley Dotoi got the Kumuls on the scoreboard inside the opening ten minutes of the second half, finishing out wide before London half Gairo Voro quickly added a second try to reduce the deficit to 24-12.

Despite their spirited comeback, PNG were unable to build further momentum, with handling errors from both sides disrupting the flow of the game.

England eventually regained control, with Morgan Knowles powering his way over to score and restore their three-score advantage, before Mikey Lewis raced away to cross out wide and eventually seal the win for England.

The result keeps England’s semi-final hopes alive, but they must now wait for Sunday’s meeting between Samoa and Tonga to discover their fate.

30 October 2026