England Rugby League Teams Exit World Cup Tournaments

England's women crashed out of the Rugby League World Cup at the group stage after a twenty-four to six defeat against Samoa in Wollongong. Stuart Barrow built his squad around eleven players aged twenty-three or under with an eye on the future. That youthful lineup fought valiantly behind a try from Evie Cousins and a conversion by Isabel Rowe. Yet the power of Samoa proved too much as Freedom Crichton Ropati secured a first-half hat-trick. Meanwhile, the men's team also teeters on the brink of a World Cup exit despite beating Papua New Guinea thirty-four to twelve. Brian McDermott saw his side throw away a twenty-two to zero lead by making twenty-one errors and completing just fifty-seven percent of their passes. That chaotic win leaves the men needing Tonga to defeat Samoa by more than forty-six points to reach the last four. Both squads now face harsh questions about bridging the gap to southern hemisphere powerhouses before the next tournament in twenty thirty.