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NRL pundit who said “England can’t beat Samoa” says England are “not far behind” Tonga and Samoa

Canterbury Bulldogs chief and NRL pundit Phil Gould made headlines before a ball was kicked at the Rugby League World Cup.

That was because he famously said “England can’t beat Samoa” going into the opening game between the two at St James’ Park.

He was wrong on that occasion but was proven right when Samoa defeated England in the semi-finals last week at the Emirates thanks to a Stephen Crichton drop goal.

Following that, Samoa took on Australia and yesterday’s final losing 30-10.

In the wake of that, Gould has given his assessment of where every top international team currently is as we move forward to the 2025 Rugby League World Cup in France.

Australia are of course the benchmark with New Zealand “great” and Samoa and Tonga “on the rise.”

Remarkably, Gould had England as “not far behind” these two despite making the semi-finals which Tonga failed to do.

He took to Twitter to say: “Australia again RLWC Champions. New Zealand great. So close. Samoa & Tonga continue their rise. Both getting stronger. England not far behind those. Need regular competition. Fiji improving. They will be a force. Lebanon were also good. More international football needed.”

Gould seemingly believes England need regular competition to compete with the rest.

He also thinks Fiji and Lebanon have potential and surprisingly left Papua New Guinea out of this summation.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. James

    November 20, 2022 at 9:32 pm

    You really need to stop paying attention to the things Gus says.

    It’ll improve your journalism and stories no end.

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