England have made their way to the Rugby League World Cup semi-finals with a 46-6 win over Papua New Guinea yesterday afternoon at Wigan Warriors’ DW Stadium.
It was a magnificent first half from England, perhaps the best from anyone in the tournament so far, as they took a 38-0 lead into halftime with them and restricted the Kumuls to less than 50 metres in 30 minutes.
In the second half, Tommy Makinson completed a record breaking haul of five tries and five goals to go alongside scores from Dom Young, Tom Burgess, Warrington Wolves’ George Williams and Salford Red Devils’ Kallum Watkins.
After the game, Leeds Rhinos legend Jamie Peacock said on BBC that he believed the first half would beat any side in the world by 12 or 18 points.
But the question remains, are those down under beginning to get worried about England’s credentials as they get ready for a semi-final in London against Samoa or Tonga who battle today?
The answer seems to be a little bit.
Surprisingly, there wasn’t much talk around the Aussies about England with Australia’s win over Lebanon and the controversy at the end of New Zealand vs Fiji taking centre stage.
Though the Australian press who did have something to say about England, talked them up:
The official NRL website said: “England have reinforced their credentials as one of the teams to beat at this year’s World Cup after storming into the semi-finals with a dominant 46-6 victory over Papua New Guinea.”
So, they’re off the belief that England are reinforcing their title credentials.
Meanwhile, Fox League focused on the brilliant first half from Shaun Wane’s side: “A first-half blitz saw the host nation score seven tries in the opening 30 minutes to the delight of 23,179 boisterous fans in Wigan.”
Lastly, Zerotackle seemed to imply that England were a joy to watch in the rain: “England have advanced through the to the World Cup semi-finals after securing a heavy win over Papua New Guinea in Wigan.
“A packed DW Stadium was alight despite the constant drizzle.”
Other than that, there was very little else said.
