England yesterday lined up a Rugby League World Cup semi-final showdown with Tonga after a scrappy 36-6 victory over Papua New Guinea (PNG) in Melbourne.
England scored seven tries, but only managed to complete 25 of 45 sets in the face of some feisty defending from the smaller Kumuls.
Winger Jermaine McGillvary and center Kallum Watkins grabbed try doubles as England carried on from a 14-0 halftime lead to reach the last four.
Photo: AFP
England will face a sterner test against the unbeaten Tongans in Auckland on Saturday, with 10-time winners Australia up against a rejuvenated Fiji in Brisbane in the other semi-final on Friday.
The match could hardly have got off to a worse start for the Kumuls. Their star Brisbane Broncos fullback David Mead was knocked out in the opening set while trying to tackle scrum-half Luke Gale and was forced out of the game.
McGillvary scored his tries six minutes apart to give England an early 8-0 lead. The athletic winger has now scored nine tries in his last eight Tests.
England extended their lead to 20-0 in the 56th minute, with Ben Currie running on to a neat grubber from fullback Gareth Widdop.
PNG winger Garry Lo scored his team’s only try in the corner, before Watkins and winger Ryan Hall added further tries for England to blow out the score.
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