England rout France 82-0 in Perth to keep World Cup hopes alive
England beat France 82-0 in Perth on 24 October 2026 in a Rugby League World Cup match, preserving their chances of reaching the knockout stages. The emphatic victory delivered the goal difference England required after their opening defeat to Tonga.
England entered the match having lost 30-12 to Tonga last Saturday and after watching Tonga and Samoa post large wins earlier in the tournament; a substantial result against France was therefore essential. They produced a dominant team performance in Perth to respond to that defeat, recording a blank-sheet shutout and a high-scoring replay of the attacking form selector demands.
Herbie Farnworth completed England’s first World Cup hat-trick since Tommy Makinson against Papua New Guinea in 2022, and by half-time England had six converted tries. Come full time, Dom Young had also finished with a treble and England had 14.
The opening breakthrough arrived after 23 minutes when captain George Williams broke the line and, with a behind-the-back pass, set up Dom Young for the corner score following a scoreless first quarter. AJ Brimson then led a break that created Matty Ashton’s try — Ashton’s seventh in six Tests — before Harry Smith’s pass put Farnworth over on 27 minutes and Farnworth struck again nine minutes later.
Williams powered over under the posts to make it 30-0, and shortly before the interval a right-sided move finished with Young returning the ball for Farnworth’s third. Eight minutes after the restart Young chased down a grubber kick to move the margin onto 40 points, and Victor Radley followed with an unopposed score after a period in which Jez Litten and Williams had cut through the French defence.
Litten, used effectively from the interchange, added a try of his own before a Brimson surge set up Mikey Lewis for what was described as try number 10. A poor short kick-off allowed Young to grab his hat-trick, Jack Welsby scored a third try in four minutes for England’s 12th, and Lewis’s second try — after beating two weak tackles — pushed England past Samoa’s 74-point winning margin over France. Brimson then finished England’s run of tries to take the total into the eighties.
Tries: Farnworth 3, Young 3, Lewis 2, Ashton, Williams, Radley, Litten, Welsby, Brimson. Goals: Savala 13. Hugo Savala was the primary kicker, converting 13 of 14 attempts and adding 26 points, while England committed six errors in the opening 20 minutes and conceded only sporadic threats from a French side that made numerous simple mistakes and have not reached the semi-finals since 1992.
England still require further results to progress: they must produce the same winning margin against Papua New Guinea in Wollongong on Friday and then rely on Tonga beating Samoa next Sunday for points difference to determine semi-final qualification.
