# Set up to fail? Where England’s World Cup campaign went wrong

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/set-up-to-fail-where-englands-world-cup-campaign-went-wrong/
- Published: 2026-10-30T14:50:57+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-30T15:36:12+00:00
- Original publisher: BBC Sport (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/articles/cqp9gv3mr8myo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
- Topics: Elections, Politics, Sport, UK, World

## Key points

- England’s men won but are likely out of the tournament.
- The women lost to Samoa and missed the semi-finals.
- Short preparation and travel problems compounded the challenge.

## Summary

England’s men beat Papua New Guinea 34-12 but are likely to be eliminated from the Rugby League World Cup because they needed a much larger win. England’s women had already lost 24-6 to Samoa, leaving both teams on course to miss the semi-finals for the first time in World Cup history. The results have renewed calls for English rugby league to examine its preparation and invest to keep pace with the southern hemisphere.

The men’s campaign began with a 30-12 defeat by Tonga, a result that put them under pressure in a format with little room for error. Coach Brian McDermott was appointed in April and had no matches to prepare with the team before the tournament; travel delays also left players exhausted and reduced planned training in Australia to two full sessions. England’s elimination would be confirmed unless Tonga beat Samoa by more than 46 points.

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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.