England vs Fiji: Kick-off time, TV channel and predicted line-up

England’s Rugby League World Cup campaign may not start officially until they host Samoa at St James’ Park, but it really gets started tonight.

Shaun Wane’s England side take on Fiji as they get ready for the start of the tournament but will be without some key men such as skipper Sam Tomkins. This sees George Williams captain the side.

England will be looking to avoid a shock defeat such as when they were stunned by Italy going into the 2013 World Cup.

Kick-off time and TV channel:

The game kicks off at 19:45 at the AJ Bell Stadium.

Coverage will begin at 19:30 on the rebranded OurLeague App, the RLWC2021 app which already has 230,000 members.

England Predicted Line-up

England are without skipper Sam Tomkins as he looks to get fully fit for the World Cup proper. John Bateman, who captained England against France last year, is absent through suspension and will also miss the opener against Samoa. Gran Finalists, Morgan Knowles, Matty Lees, Tommy Makinson and Mikolaj Oledzki won’t be involved but Jack Welsby and Joe Batchelor could be.

Wane has five players in his squad for this game who aren’t in the World Cup squad itself. They could feature, but where possible his World Cup stars will surely be prioritised if fit. This will see Jack Welsby at fullback, Marc Sneyd and George Williams in the halves and Dom Young on the wing. Kallum Watkins and Herbie Farnworth will start at centre with England’s all-time top try scorer Ryan Hall on the wing.

NRL stars Luke Thompson, Elliot Whitehead and Victor Radley will star in the pack whilst Wane will shed light on his first choice nine as he picks between Michael McIlorum and Andy Ackers.

It will be interesting to see whether Tom Burgess continues as an impact sub or if he will be in the running to start alongside Chris Hill and Mike Cooper.

Predicted Line-up:

1 Jack Welsby
2 Dom Young
3 Kallum Watkins
4 Herbie Farnworth
5 Ryan Hall
6 George Williams
7 Marc Sneyd
8 Chris Hill
9 Michael McIlorum
10 Luke Thompson
11 Elliot Whitehead
12 Joe Batchelor
13 Victor Radley
Substitutes
14 Andy Ackers
15 Tom Burgess
16 Mike Cooper
17 Mike McMeeken