England edge towards World Cup exit despite PNG win

England beat Papua New Guinea 34-12 but made too many errors to achieve the large margin needed to keep their World Cup semi-final hopes alive. After an early lead, their performance faltered, leaving them reliant on an unlikely result elsewhere.

England had needed to overcome a 68-point deficit to Samoa across their remaining group matches. Following an 82-0 win over France, they led PNG 22-0 after 22 minutes, but conceded tries and repeatedly lost possession; they finished with 21 errors and a 57% completion rate. England can still reach the last four if Tonga beat Samoa by more than 46 points, a result described as highly improbable.