England completed a series clean sweep over Tonga with a third consecutive victory against Kristian Woolf’s side to round off an impressive autumn international programme for Shaun Wane’s men.
The series had already been decided prior to this third and final Test at Headingley but England arguably reserved their best and most polished display of the three matches here in Leeds. The hosts were much the stronger, as they have been for almost all of the series, with four tries to Tonga’s one underlining the gap between the two sides.
England led 14-0 at half-time, with tries from Ben Currie and Matty Ashton, coupled with three goals from the boot of the impressive Harry Smith. The Wigan scrum-half, who was named player of the series, has impressed across all three Tests and looks set to be captain George Williams’ long-term partner at half-back on the road to the next World Cup in 2026.
And the hosts’ advantage was extended further five minutes after the restart, when Elliott Whitehead marked his final England match before international retirement with a well-taken try. The try of the afternoon then followed, a remarkable score which saw the play cross the width of the field before freeing the Leeds centre, Harry Newman, to score on his home ground.
Tonga have been disappointing all series, but they at least avoided the ignominy of being nilled when Eliesa Katoa scored as the game entered the final ten minutes. However, there would be no comeback from the Tongans who, in truth, were well-beaten not just here, but across all three matches by an impressive England side.
England women underline dominance
England reaffirmed their position as the dominant force of women’s rugby league in the northern hemisphere with a commanding 60-0 victory over Wales.
Having beaten France 64-0 mid-season, Stuart Barrow’s side once again dispatched another side in impressive fashion at Headingley, with England scoring 11 tries without reply as they proved far too superior for Wales. The outstanding York full-back, Tara-Jane Stanley, scored 22 points in a haul which included two tries with Leeds’ Amy Hardcastle also scoring twice as the hosts once again showed they are by far the market leaders in the northern hemisphere.
The challenge for England is bridging the gap between themselves and the world’s two standout nations, Australia and New Zealand. A flurry of England players including scrum-half Georgia Roche, who excelled here, have swapped the Women’s Super League for the professionalism of the NRLW in Australia this year, in a move that many hope will give England a chance of competing at the next World Cup in 2026. Regular games against stronger opposition like the Jillaroos would also be ideal, with England once again showing here that they are far too good for sides like France and Wales as things stand.
They broke the deadlock after just nine minutes when captain Jodie Cunningham combined with Hardcastle to send the centre clear before Hardcastle scored her second five minutes later after an excellent piece of work from Roche.
Trailing 10-0 at such an early stage, you felt the writing was on the wall for Wales already, and the hosts further extended their advantage as the first half wore on. Shona Hoyle was next to score after a fine Cunningham break before Hardcastle took centre stage with a sublime break from deep that was finished by Caitlin Beevers. Stanley missed the conversion but with a 20-point advantage at half-time, it was already a case of how many England would win by.
- Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for 'The Guardian'.
- If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.
- In the Guardian app, tap the Menu button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.
- Turn on sport notifications.
Three minutes after the restart, Stanley cut through some poor Welsh defending to score her first of the afternoon before Lacey Owen marked her England debut with a try four minutes after coming on. Roche marked a superb performance with a try as the hour mark approached before Stanley claimed her second to make it 42-0. And any notion of the hosts letting up in the final quarter was unfounded as England crossed for three more tries with Tamzin Renouf, Keara Bennett and Emily Rudge all scoring to bring up the 60-point mark for Barrow’s side.
