England v Papua New Guinea

Rugby League World CupGroup stage Round 3

Full time

England

34–12

Papua New Guinea

Match events

EnglandPapua New Guinea

Matty Ashton5'AJ Brimson11'Dominic Young18'Harry Smith20'M. Knowles68'Mikey Lewis79'

Tries

Dudley Dotoi44'Gairo Voro50'

Hugo Savala×3Harry Smith 68' (4/6)

Conversions

Rhyse Martin46'Rhyse Martin 51' (2/2)

Hugo Savala 39' (1/1)

Penalty goals

–

24Half time0

Team stats

53%Possession47%

59%29/49Completion Rate62%27/43

1705All Run Metres1278

7Line Breaks3

298Tackles Made301

20Errors18

10Penalties Conceded10

Most Tackles: Sam Walters (England) 40 | Rhyse Martin (Papua New Guinea) 37
Most Run Metres: Matty Ashton (England) 173 | Rhyse Martin (Papua New Guinea) 134
Most Line Breaks: Matty Ashton (England) 2 | Gairo Voro (Papua New Guinea) 2
Most Fantasy Points: Herbie Farnworth (England) 80 | Dudley Dotoi (Papua New Guinea) 59
Try scorers: AJ Brimson (England) 1, Dominic Young (England) 1, Matty Ashton (England) 1, Harry Smith (England) 1, Morgan Knowles (England) 1, Mikey Lewis (England) 1
Most points: Hugo Savala (England) 8, Harry Smith (England) 6, AJ Brimson (England) 4

1st half

Kick off
TryMatty Ashton
5'4–0
ConversionHugo Savala
6'6–0
TryAJ Brimson
11'10–0
ConversionHugo Savala
12'12–0
TryDominic Young

2nd half

On reportJunior Nsemba placed
41'
43'
Captain's challengecaptain's challenge: Successful
44'24–4
TryDudley Dotoi
46'24–6
ConversionRhyse Martin
50'24–10
TryGairo Voro
51'

Scoring progression

England aheadPapua New Guinea ahead

Biggest lead: England 24Papua New Guinea never led
Lead changes: 0
Final margin: England by 22

Team stats

EnglandPapua New Guinea

53%Possession %47%
59% (29/49)Completion rate62% (27/43)
1705All run metres1278
628Post contact metres459
7Line breaks3
47Tackle breaks23
285Kicking metres361
298Tackles made301

Key leaders

Run metres

Tackles

Line breaks

Tackle breaks

Points

Try assists

Post-contact metres

NRL Fantasy

Player stats

Player
5Matty AshtonWinger	80	173	4	2	2	5	0	1	4	33	19	39	0	0	21	0	57	23	0	3	2
4Herbie FarnworthCentre	80	161	16	1	1	13	3	0	0	80	15	61	1	2	0	0	89	20	0	1	1
15Sam WaltersInterchange	56	150	40	1	0	3	2	0	0	59	15	68	0	0	0	0	98	18	0	2	2
12Kai Pearce-Paul2nd Row	80	149	28	4	0	1	3	0	0	53	14	76	1	1	0	0	82	15	0	1	0
8Max KingProp	48	136	15	1	0	1	2	0	0	34	16	58	0	0	12	0	88	17	0	1	0
1AJ BrimsonFullback	80	131	5	2	1	4	0	1	4	33	12	48	0	0	66	4	71	31	0	1	0
2Dominic YoungWinger	80	119	1	0	1	4	1	1	4	31	16	40	0	0	12	0	100	17	0	3	0
13Morgan KnowlesLock	67	119	30	5	0	1	1	1	4	49	11	59	0	0	0	0	86	19	0	0	0
3Hugo SavalaCentre	64	91	11	1	0	3	0	0	8	34	11	39	1	1	0	0	85	15	4/5	3	0
10Luke ThompsonProp	52	90	22	1	0	0	1	0	0	31	12	33	0	0	26	0	96	13	0	1	0
7Harry SmithHalfback	80	84	21	0	1	1	0	1	6	53	14	11	0	0	4	215	100	55	1/2	1	1
11Junior Nsemba2nd Row	52	69	15	1	0	5	1	0	0	29	7	32	0	0	0	0	94	8	0	1	2
6George WilliamsFive-Eighth	80	68	18	0	0	1	0	0	0	35	12	14	2	1	0	20	82	39	0	0	1
16Ethan HavardInterchange	32	62	20	2	0	0	1	0	0	25	8	24	0	0	0	0	87	8	0	0	0
14Mikey LewisInterchange	23	52	13	0	1	1	0	1	4	30	2	8	0	0	0	0	93	30	0	0	1
22Kallum WatkinsInterchange	28	25	10	0	0	2	1	0	0	16	4	10	0	0	0	0	91	8	0	1	0
9Jez LittenHooker	57	21	29	2	0	2	0	0	0	30	3	0	0	0	0	45	94	93	0	1	0
20Brad O'NeillReserve	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
21Zach EckersleyReserve	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Tap a column to sort. Bold is the team's best. Mins minutes played · Run m all run metres · Tkl tackles made · Miss missed tackles · LB line breaks · TB tackle breaks · Off offloads · Tries tries · Pts points · Fan nrl fantasy points · Runs all runs · PCM post-contact metres

Highlights

0:15AJ Brimson Trynrl.com0:16Dominic Young Trynrl.com0:15Harry Smith Trynrl.com0:14Dudley Dotoi Trynrl.com0:14Gairo Voro Trynrl.com0:14Morgan Knowles Trynrl.com

Compare these twoAll-time head to head, form, this season's numbers and our analyst's verdict

News and reaction

Match reportEngland beat Papua New Guinea but World Cup hopes in doubtEngland beat Papua New Guinea 34-12 at the Rugby League World Cup in Wollongong, but look set to miss out on the semi-finals following their opening loss to Tonga.BBC30 Oct

Match reportRugby League World Cup: England beat Papua New Guinea 34-12 but on brink of group-stage exit in AustraliaEngland are on the brink of a Rugby League World Cup pool stage exit despite a 34-12 victory over Papua New Guinea in Wollongong.Sky Sports30 Oct

Match reportEngland v Papua New Guinea highlights with World Cup hopes all but over

Where to watch

SevenStreaming on 7plus SportExclusive Australian rights: every men's, women's and wheelchair Rugby League World Cup 2026 match live and free on Seven and 7plus Sport.Free to airWatch on Seven

Usual broadcasters for this competition in Australia.