England Rugby League Boss McDermott Urges Patience Amid World Cup Push

England's head coach, Brian McDermott, has called for his players to maintain patience as they prepare to face Papua New Guinea on Friday. With their Rugby League World Cup semi-final hopes hanging in the balance, England needs a significant points difference swing and for Samoa to lose their upcoming match. McDermott stressed the importance of adhering to the team's strategy, which proved successful in their dominant 82-0 victory over France last weekend.

"There's a discipline in that we don't start looking for things or searching for things outside of how we want to play," McDermott explained. "And that was a really impressive trick against France because we knew we had points in us and they weren't coming for that first 20."

Despite the team being scoreless for the initial 22 minutes against France, they found their rhythm in the second half to secure their largest-ever margin of victory against the French. In contrast, Papua New Guinea struggled in their recent match against Samoa, trailing by only 14-6 at halftime before succumbing to a 64-6 defeat in the second half.

McDermott has made tactical personnel decisions, with Warrington winger Matty Ashton retaining his position. Jez Litten has been selected at hooker over Brad O'Neill, who, despite being crowned Super League Man of Steel, will be among the interchanges. "It's that hard call knowing that you've got to have a tough chat with someone like Brad O'Neill, who's probably not doing anything wrong," McDermott said. "It's more about, I guess, the best fit for gameplan. They all understand the concept of it being a squad effort."

Brisbane Broncos prop Ben Talty has yet to feature, while Kallum Watkins is on the interchange bench, with Victor Radley and Jack Welsby dropping out. Morgan Knowles is set to make his tournament debut after recovering from a calf issue that saw him miss England's 30-12 loss to Tonga on October 17. His return comes shortly after the birth of his third child.

McDermott expressed his anticipation for Knowles' return, stating, "He's had a fair bit going on, but I'm really keen to get him in the team and looking forward to watching him play tomorrow. He'll be good and he's really keen to get back with the team and start playing."

In parallel, the England women's team is preparing for a critical group game against Samoa. Prop Vicky Whitfield described their recent 78-0 loss to Australia as valuable preparation for this decisive match, which will determine a semi-final spot. "It gets us used to that quicker pace. Australia threw a lot of shape at us. So defensively, it was a great test for us to have going into this game," Whitfield commented. The winner of the Pool A contest will advance to face the victor of Pool B, New Zealand, in the semi-finals.