New-look England, same outcome. England have not lost a Test against France since 1981 and it took barely half an hour in Warrington to realise that record would not be changing. Shaun Wane’s refreshed and re-energised side, featuring 13 debutants and on the start of a fresh road towards the World Cup in three years’ time, were always going to be too strong for France.
That the game was settled so early is positive in terms of the depth England have. Led by a mercurial, near-perfect display from their new captain, George Williams, one of a handful of survivors from last year’s World Cup, they scored 11 tries. It was difficult to fully judge quite how impressive England were given the calibre of the opposition. France, unable to call on a number of high-profile players due to injury and withdrawals, were no match.
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That is, in a nutshell, the problem with international rugby league. In the northern hemisphere, there is no side who can match an England side even with this little experience. The greater test will come in the autumn with the three-match series against Tonga. Only then will we find out what shape England are in when it comes to being ready for a tilt at the World Cup in 2025. But this, if nothing else, was a useful outing in terms of blooding young players.
The writing was on the wall after three minutes, when Ash Handley collected a wonderful kick from Williams. France briefly hit back, but could not make their territory count and by half-time England had clicked through the gears to put the contest to bed.
Harry Smith marked his Test debut with a try after Jake Wardle’s fine offload, before another Wigan youngster on debut, Ethan Havard, followed suit to make it 18-0. Wardle became the third Warriors player to score, as England were beginning to cut France open at will.
By half-time, Williams had the try his first outing as captain merited before he then turned provider with a superb pass for Handley’s second, Smith’s conversion making it 36-0 at the break.
By then, it was just a question of how many England would win by, and the answer was 28. Yes, Laurent Frayssinous’s side were poor, but some of the execution and skill from England was a joy to watch.
Leah Burke crossed for four tries as England’s women made light work of France in Stuart Barrow’s first game as head coach with a comprehensive 64-0 victory in Warrington.
Barrow, who succeeded Craig Richards after England’s World Cup semi-final defeat by New Zealand last autumn, made no secret of his desire to freshen up the national side for the next World Cup in 2025.
His side, led by a new captain in Jodie Cunningham, were far too good for France. They cruised into a 30-0 lead by half-time with two tries from Burke inside the opening 10 minutes putting England into an early lead. Shona Hoyle powered her way across the line from close range, with Tara-Jane Stanley converting.
Tamzin Renouf marked her international recall with a try before Eboni Partington crossed for a try on her Test debut, capitalising on an error from a France side who were always second-best. The lead was extended to 30-0 six minutes from half-time as Stanley cut through the defence.
The hosts were just as relentless after half-time. By the hour mark they had scored another three tries courtesy of two from Hollie-Mae Dodd, one of three English players heading to Australia’s NRLW competition in the coming weeks, with Burke completing her hat-trick.
Sinead Peach barrelled over from dummy-half before an instinctive piece of play from another NRLW-bound player, Georgia Roche, enabled Burke to claim her fourth before Amy Hardcastle rounded off the scoring.
That was largely led by Williams, who has been the standout half-back in Super League this year and is categorically the heartbeat of the national team for the next three years. This performance emphasised that. He started and finished a move for the first England try after half-time before Handley completed his hat-trick after another sublime assist from Williams. Kai Pearce-Paul took England through the 50-point mark after a break from, who else, Williams again.
Williams then completed a near-perfect personal display by finishing a Handley break to round off his hat-trick before another Williams pass laid on a try for Danny Walker.
This was certainly not a barometer as to whether England can compete with Australia but as far as first outings for a young group of players can go, this was about as perfect as it gets. This has been talked up as an England side built for the future, but led by their outstanding captain they showed they are also well-equipped for the present day.
Certainly coach Wane was satisfied, telling Sky Sports: “Half-time we had to improve on a few things, we had to fix a few details, and those details we saw in the second half, which I’m really happy about. We had 13 debuts so it’s a very proud day.
“I’ve been genuinely excited about this game but I’m not going to get carried away. The French were big but not as skilful as us. I thought we did a lot of good things.”
