Rugby League World Cup

Updates as the Rugby League World Cup kicks off with hosts England facing Samoa in Newcastle; kick-off is at 2.30pm; reigning champions Australia face Fiji ...

Shaun Wane's hosts get their Rugby League World Cup campaign underway against Matt Parish's much-fancied Samoa in a Group A encounter.

There are hopes this can become the most-attended edition of the RLWC in tournament history - and if this one gets off to a flier, they may be well-founded. 75 mins to KO: Hello, one and all, and welcome to the 2021 Rugby League World Cup! 45 mins to KO: England are in the house and soaking it up. Farnworth darts after it and seems to get it down - we'll go to the video referee. He thinks he has a case - but the original decision stands, and they lose it for the rest of the match! HT: Do England have enough in the tank to see off a Samoa comeback? A penalty marches England downfield, and they work it wide to the left. Young brings St James' Park to life with a run down the right flank and earns a six-again call after he is held down. England monster a 40-20 to get themselves deep downfield in the final minute, and the veteran prop just runs over the returning Milford to dot down. Williams puts Makinson away on the wing, where he dodges an attempt to take him into touch, and he flicks a pass - one that certainly looked dubiously forward - inside to Whitehead for his brace. Shaun Wane's side sail to the top of Group A straight out of the gate and throw down a gauntlet for everyone else. FT: Eight different England players got on the scoresheet, but the man of the match is not one of them - it goes to Radley, the Australian-born loose-forward who helped power this pack around the pitch.

England and Samoa will get the Rugby League World Cup off to a cracking start in what could be one of the most important games of the group stage.

[Josh Papalii](https://www.zerotackle.com/players/josh-papalii/) 9. [Thomas Burgess](https://www.zerotackle.com/players/thomas-burgess/) 9. [England](https://www.zerotackle.com/rugby-league/international-teams/england/) [George Williams](https://www.zerotackle.com/players/george-williams/) 8. [Jack Welsby](https://www.zerotackle.com/players/jack-welsby/) 7. [Dominic Young](https://www.zerotackle.com/players/dominic-young/) 6. [Tommy Makinson](https://www.zerotackle.com/players/tommy-makinson/) 3. [Samoa](https://www.zerotackle.com/rugby-league/international-teams/samoa/). [England](https://www.zerotackle.com/rugby-league/international-teams/england/) to kick us off. [England](https://www.zerotackle.com/rugby-league/international-teams/england/) are in again! [Tommy Makinson](https://www.zerotackle.com/players/tommy-makinson/) converts. [Samoa](https://www.zerotackle.com/rugby-league/international-teams/samoa/) now on the attack.

England open the tournament with a daunting clash against the highly-fancies Samoans.

It will be the only place you can watch the game today from the UK. Today's coverage begins at 1.15 PM on BBC1, meaning there will be over an hour's worth of coverage before the game begins. England, head into the tournament without a number of their star players including Jonny Lomax, Alex Walmsley, Liam Farrell and Mark Percival while John Bateman is suspended. The match is set to take place in front of a bumper crowd and get the competition off with a bang between two of the favourites to win the competition. The BBC will be broadcasting every single match from this year's men's, women's and wheelchair tournaments, meaning fans won't miss a second of the action. It will be the first of 61 matches from three different competition's to be shown on the BBC, with the broadcaster showing every single game from the Men's, Women's and Wheelchair tournaments.

Minute-by-minute report: Will England start off their Rugby League World Cup campaign with a win? Join Daniel Gallan to find out.

Samoa get a fresh set of six and have crept inside the England 22. The PA system has failed and now we’ll get a delayed start to the match. But is he in control of the ball? He gets a great pass from Welsby, and it was poor defence from Samoa who seemed to switch off, but that is the score of a star in the making. They don’t seem to have a plan and it’s all first phase rugby at the minute. Tomkins collects well under the high ball and sets off on a counter. Williams gets the pass against the grain and burst through a challenge. Samoa keep the ball and stab a kick through. They kick away the ball when they have to but Samoa are right against their own line. He drops the ball though and England go back. I was on the same page but England have kept it tight and have actually been the more threatening in the wide areas. A forced turnover from England to get the ball back.

Kallum Watkins helped England run riot in the second half, as fellow centre Herbie Farnworth, Elliott Whitehead - twice - Tommy Makinson, George Williams and ...

Samoa head coach Matt Parish said: "England had momentum and we couldn't swing it back. "We knew they were going to come out firing and they did. "Samoa were a bit off today but our defence put them off. They had close calls before converting their opener courtesy of Jack Welsby running through. "I just wanted to win the game and we did it in such a good manner but we will face tougher tests." But England shook off any fears of a losing start to the tournament by dominating the contest and running in 10 tries in their toughest group game.

Dom Young was the star of the show as England pummelled Samoa at St James' Park to open the Rugby League World Cup in emphatic style, with England running ...

Attendance at St James' Park was 43,119. The Canberra second-row then quickly got his second when Makinson raced away down the left flank. Samoa will get better and boast some dazzling talent which will light up the tournament. Still, England’s defence, with Michael McIlorum and Victor Radley bring such steel, never flinched. After a Samoa fumble allowed England to force more pressure, Welsby darted down the short side on the last tackle to pick out another perfect pass for Young’s second. It never came and tournament organisers “sincerely” apologised at half-time for the disrupted tournament welcome.

The Catalans Dragons utility was in visible pain following an incident early in the second-half of Samoa's game with England.

He has since been taken to hospital and is expected to be out injured for the rest of the tournament. Braden Hamlin-Uele and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow also went off injured for Matt Parish's side, who had a slow start, as was predicted by their coach. May had entered a collision close to the England line but immediately grabbed at his leg after screaming in pain. A stretcher was quickly called for the Samoan utility and after being stabilised, was taken from the field. Details remain sketch at the minute, but the BBC reported soon after that May had suffered a hip injury. Samoa's World Cup campaign didn't get off to a good start.

KAISER CHIEFS frontman Ricky Wilson was forced to keep the crowd entertained at the Rugby League World Cup opening ceremony.That's after the public.

[Rugby League World Cup](https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/15784660/rugby-league-world-cup-2022-england-covid/) off to an emotional start when he launched the welcome event in Newcastle. Singer Wilson took to sprinting up and down the touchline to raise spirits as the pre-tournament show ended abruptly. You can say it's funny but it's not." But the ceremony was soon disrupted when the public address system went down and Kaiser Chiefs were forced to cut short their show. [curtain-raiser between England and Samoa which the hosts won 60-6.](https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/20084854/england-samoa-rugby-league-world-cup-live-stream-free/) [The hugely-anticipated opener](https://www.thesun.co.uk/topic/rugby-league-world-cup/) ended up kicking off over 10 minutes late as a result. KAISER CHIEFS frontman Ricky Wilson was forced to keep the crowd entertained at the Rugby League World Cup opening ceremony.

Ricky Wilson tried to gee up the crowd at St James' Park on Saturday following a delay to England's Rugby League World Cup clash with Samoa.

The delay angered some fans, with one tweeting that rugby league is 'the worst run sport on Earth. The Kaiser Chiefs front man ran the length of the pitch while gesturing to the crowd and trying to start a Mexican wave. Ricky Wilson tried to gee up the crowd at St James' Park on Saturday following a delay to England's Rugby League World Cup clash with Samoa.

Dominic Young and Elliott Whitehead had doubles while Tommy Makinson kicked eight conversions and two penalties to go with a try. More to come... Advertisement.

The hosts ran in 10 tries in the 60-6 victory with a big second half effort after going into halftime up 18-6. In the game, England thrashed Samoa with a statement victory in Newcastle. Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson had to improvise after the PA system failed during their set in the opening ceremony ahead of the England-Samoa clash - before they could sing their 2007 hit 'Ruby'.

The pre-tournament show is halted just minutes before the opening game between England and Samoa.

Prior to the technical breakdown, former Leeds and England scrum-half Rob Burrow received a rapturous welcome from the 40,000-plus crowd as he launched the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. The pre-tournament show was brought to an abrupt end just minutes before the opening game between England and Samoa. Rock band Kaiser Chiefs had to think on their feet after a broken public address system delayed the Rugby League World Cup opening ceremony.

The hosts ran in 10 tries to stun the Samoan side at St James Park.

England have found an instant hero in Knights' Dom Young, who scored two tries in their emphatic opening World Cup victory, 60-6, over Samoa.

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England had gone into the match at St James' Park as underdogs against a Samoan team boasting six members of Penrith Panthers' recent NRL Grand Final-winning ...

I know nobody gave us a chance of winning the game but within our group and the tight team spirit that we had, we knew how we’d trained and what we could do. It was a tough call for me. “It was real difficult for me leaving those players out. Makinson converted to take England out to 24-6, and then hit his second penalty after the sin-binning of Samoa playmaker Milford for a late hit on Tomkins. Dom Young scored two superb tries to help England to a 60-6 thrashing of Samoa in the opening game of the Rugby League World Cup in Newcastle. “I just wanted to win the game and we did it in such a good manner.

LIVE World Cup: Nanai scores on debut as Kangaroos take lead in tight clash with Fiji.

Meanwhile, Fiji also enjoyed a dream start with the opening try against Australia in rainy Leeds. But the Kangaroos took it on the chin and hit back with seven ...

So much was expected of Samoa, which was the bettors' favourite against England and stacked with players from the NRL final. Halfbacks Jack Welsby and George Williams hit the ground running. We can put in a lot better performance than that." Meanwhile, Fiji also enjoyed a dream start with the opening try against Australia in rainy Leeds. But they didn't have a warmup match, were vastly under-prepared, and lacked any kind of cohesion. I'm very happy," England coach Shaun Wane said.

Josh Addo-Carr scored two tries to help Australia kick off the defence of their Rugby League World Cup title with a convincing 42-8 victory over Fiji on ...

But apart from that we were brilliant. "Samoa were a bit off today but our defence put them off," Wane told BBC. Everything we asked of our players they executed well." "I just wanted to win the game and we did it in such a good manner." Dom Young had earlier scored two superb tries to help England to a 60-6 thrashing of Samoa in the opening game of the tournament, which runs until November 19, in Newcastle. Newcastle (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Josh Addo-Carr scored two tries to help Australia kick off the defence of their Rugby League World Cup title with a convincing 42-8 victory over Fiji on Saturday while hosts England thrashed Samoa 60-6.

Following a colourful but disrupted tournament welcome, Shaun Wane's side started well in the North East and were rewarded after 21 minutes. Halfbacks George ...

But Wane’s men went up a gear and produced some stunning moments to score 42 points in just 40 minutes. Whilst it’s fair to say Samoa were a little undercooked, having only been together for a few days, nothing should be taken away from England. But Samoa, who were poor by their usual standards, grabbed one back just before the break, with Penrith Panthers centre Izack Tago intercepting a wayward Welsby pass and cantering to the try line.

Jake Maizen scored three tries as Italy defeated Scotland 28-4 in Pool B of the Rugby League World Cup.

In the day’s other games Luke Keary proved a class apart as Ireland cruised to a comfortable 48-2 win over debutants Jamaica at Headingley. It then took them just four minutes after the restart to extend that advantage further, as Maizen claimed his first of the afternoon. On this display, though, the Azzurri will be hopeful of becoming a regular presence in European rugby league.

Manu's outrageous display leaves Roosters facing huge call; Keary's Irish statement: World Cup Wrap.

[England put 10 tries on Samoa in ‘staggering’ World Cup warning](https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/world-cup/rugby-league-world-cup-2022-results-scores-england-vs-samoa-highlights-fixtures-reaction-teams/news-story/820f8eed3913c55de565c6718652ebea) [Skipper Jesse Bromwich barrelled through and touched down over his head in quick response for the Kiwis, whose sole World Cup title came in 2008 at the expense of the all-conquering Australia.](https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/nrl-grand-final-2022-penrith-panthers-contracts-apisai-koroisau-to-wests-tigers-ivan-cleary-press-conference-video-reaction/news-story/f862a4ea7d6ffaa9c886a7f793c50178) [Kangaroos thrash Fiji to begin WC defence in style](https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/world-cup/nrl-2022-rugby-league-world-cup-australia-vs-fiji-kangaroos-live-updates-stream-start-time-teams-video/news-story/94bc95f583709a5b6221a6df357fce16) He is currently employed as head coach of Argentina. [Doueihi sent off in bizarre clash](https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/world-cup/rugby-league-world-cup-2022-adam-doueihi-sent-off-grant-atkins-robbie-farah-lebanon-vs-new-zealand/news-story/7fb215ebde5b297c0108310d2515b999) [DCE fails to keep Cleary at bay; Mal’s ‘unbelievable’ dilemma](https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/world-cup/rugby-world-cup-2022-australia-vs-fiji-3-big-hits-daly-cherryevans-nathan-cleary-harry-grant-ben-hunt-mal-meninga/news-story/a0b32898e1f514fc2284a470e2120cfd) [that saw Adam Doueihi sent off](https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/world-cup/rugby-league-world-cup-2022-adam-doueihi-sent-off-grant-atkins-robbie-farah-lebanon-vs-new-zealand/news-story/7fb215ebde5b297c0108310d2515b999).