England KNOCKED OUT of Rugby League World Cup group stages as Samoa advance at their expense

England have been dumped out of the Rugby League World Cup group stages after Tonga failed to beat Samoa by a 46-point margin to see the former qualify at the latter’s expense.

After beating Papua New Guinea 34-12 on Friday, England needed Tonga to thrash Samoa by at least 46 points to achieve an unlikely spot in the semi-finals.

However, Tonga only edged past Samoa 20-18 in a pulsating encounter on Sunday – meaning they both qualified for the final four with England eliminated.

Samoa will face tournament hosts and favourites Australia in Sydney on November 8, while Tonga will take on New Zealand in Newcastle (New South Wales) on November 7.

England’s exit was always looking likely after losing their opening group-stage encounter 30-12 against Tonga. A mammoth 82-0 win over France gave them some hope before that was quickly crushed by this round of results.

The reality of the outcome means an inquest will begin into the future of rugby league in England as their run of seven-successive World Cup semi-final appearances comes to an end.

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