Jon Wilkin says Jack Welsby ‘will learn a lot’ from his mistakes in Samoa defeat as he says England “let themselves down”

England came up short in yesterday in the Rugby League World Cup semi-final against Samoa at the Emirates Stadium as a Stephen Crichton Golden Point drop goal saw the Samoans book their place in a first ever World Cup Final against Australia at Old Trafford.

Samoa came up with some massive plays to secure the win but England were “not good enough” in the eyes of coach Shaun Wane as they made some uncharacteristic errors in the defeat which ultimately cost them.

One came from Jack Welsby in golden point, though that wasn’t the one which cost them.

After the game speaking on BBC Jon Wilkin said a game like that will be a vital experience in the St Helens star’s development alongside the likes of Dom Young.

“A big learning day for a couple of them,” Wilkin said, “Jack Welsby will learn a lot from this, Victor Radley who made a telling contribution to the Stephen Crichton try, Dom Young who we’ve spoken about in such glowing terms.

“When you make those errors, you learn and they’re young athletes who will be infinitely better going forward.

“I thought this young England team had a different mentality and I thought they were going to produce a strong performance and they’ve let themselves down.

“The positive thing is they are young, they can keep growing and developing.”