# England’s travel schedule like Steve Martin comedy – McDermott

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/englands-travel-schedule-like-steve-martin-comedy-mcdermott/
- Published: 2026-10-22T12:48:38+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-22T13:59:11+00:00
- Original publisher: BBC Sport (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/articles/cmq5n0pezgg5o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
- Topics: Art, Celebrity, Culture, Elections, Entertainment, Politics, Sport, Travel, UK, World

## Key points

- England’s journey to Perth took almost 48 hours.
- The team had only two full training sessions before Tonga.
- England need wins and favourable results to reach the semi-finals.

## Summary

England head coach Brian McDermott says a nearly 48-hour journey to Perth left his players exhausted and short of preparation before their Rugby League World Cup opener. Their 30-12 defeat by Tonga has put them close to elimination, making the disrupted build-up especially costly.

The route took the UK-based players by bus to London, then via Singapore and Sydney before reaching Perth, leaving England with only two full training sessions and no warm-up match. To reach the semi-finals, they must beat France and Papua New Guinea and rely on other results; Samoa’s 78-4 win over France has left England’s points difference 92 worse than Samoa’s in the combined Pools B and C table. The International Rugby League planned the itinerary, and the BBC had contacted it for comment.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.