England’s 2026 Rugby League World Cup campaign got off to a difficult start in Perth as they suffered a 30-12 defeat to Tonga. Despite appearing to be the superior side for the opening 20 minutes of both halves, England struggled with a recurring pattern of handling errors, loose penalties, and unnecessary offloads. The loss was sealed when Haumole Olakau’atu crossed for Tonga’s fourth try, marking the first time the island nation has beaten England in seven meetings. With England third, the Tongans are ranked fifth in the world rugby league standings. As Tonga’s deliriously happy supporters celebrated in their thousands in Perth, England knew they only had themselves to blame. Needless offloads, sloppy penalties â allowed Tonga to control the momentum for much of the game, but a succession of mistakes – handling errors. When it wasn’t it was down to us and the errors we made,” he told his post-match media conference, it was a really good contest. But we made errors chasing the scoreboard, we stood toe to toe for nearly all the game. Many of them justified, but he organised a defensively solid England team who whitewashed Tonga on their tour of Britain in 2023, wane had his critics. A much more assured Tonga side started the evening with a spine-tingling Sipi Tau battle dance and ended it with victory for the first time in seven meetings with England. Too willing to pass up the chance to run at the Tongans and pass the buck, his side looked nervous with ball in hand.
Head coach Brian McDermott, who took charge in April as the successor to Shaun Wane, insisted that the team’s World Cup hopes are not yet extinguished. While acknowledging that the errors were costly, McDermott remains confident that his side is heading in the right direction. He emphasized that the loss was a result of avoidable mistakes rather than a lack of strategic capability, stating, “I’m not going to say it’s an easy fix, but it’s something I can change.” And that is where the former Leeds Rhinos coach will be questioned, team selection and tactics are not.
England entered the tournament under challenging circumstances, having played no warm-up matches. Their last competitive outing was a defeat to Australia at Headingley in November 2025, and the team has not secured a victory since beating Samoa in November 2024. McDermott noted that competing at the international level requires discipline with the ball, remarking, “You cannot play with freedom at international level, you have to keep hold of the ball.” We know what is in front of us now. Australia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand. And McDermott has had to piece together a team with minimal preparation, he left in January after England were well beaten in last year’s Ashes.
The match raised questions regarding tactical decisions and team selection. Captain George Williams and half-back partner Harry Smith struggled to find their rhythm, with Williams describing the performance as erratic. At full-back, AJ Brimson was given the start over Jack Welsby; while Brimson scored England’s opening try, he was later found out of position during the play that led to Tonga’s fourth try.
Looking ahead, McDermott intends to review his options before naming the side for the next match against France on Tuesday. With the tournament structure requiring a win in their next two group games, the pressure is mounting on the squad to find the necessary balance. Williams remains optimistic, suggesting that the group has the potential to recover, noting, “We can’t be kicking stones. We have a great group of lads, and one loss does not change how we think.” But one or two things we must get rid of, like losing possession, there are tonnes of positives to take out of tonight.
Supporters can follow the remainder of the World Cup with live coverage available on Radio 5 Live, Radio 5 Sports Extra, and Sport website and app. And key women’s matches – with coverage on Radio 5 Live, Radio 5 Sports Extra, Sounds and Sport website and app, listen to live commentary on every men’s match.
