Rugby League World Cup: Dave Woods on what to expect from England as they face France
- Published
England v Samoa highlights
Still buzzing from England's win over Samoa last week? You should be.
It was dazzling and unpredicted.
It brought to mind England's memorable 4-1 win over the Netherlands at football's Euro 96 - a breathtaking display that made a team of champs look more like chumps.
One standout feature from England's rousing, opening victory over a previously fancied side was the thrill factor provided by their backs.
Down the years England's pack has never been doubted - from Adrian Morley through to Jamie Peacock, Sam Burgess, James Graham et al, the side has invariably looked world class.
But this iteration of England features a world-class backline as well, inspired by halves George Williams and Jack Welsby.
Samoa made it tough for 20 minutes before falling well short of their pre-tournament billing. But England made a real statement as they landed punch after eye-catching punch.
Now it's onto France for Shaun Wane's side on Saturday and we've every right to expect more of the same.
There will be wholesale changes and all seven players who missed out last week have been promised a run-out in Bolton.
But there'll be a clamour for Dominic Young to stay in the side given his prolific and often sensational try-scoring exploits.
He scored five tries in the last three games of Newcastle Knights' NRL campaign, grabbed two more in England's warm-up match against Fiji and then claimed another double against hapless Samoa.
That's nine tries in five games and he could really fill his boots in the next few weeks.
England's Dominic Young stars in best tries of the weekend
And the fresh look to that England line-up is another reason to be cheerful as there's a real talent pool to build around for the future.
Young is 21, as is Welsby. Herbie Farnworth is 22, Victor Radley and Matty Lees are 24 and Morgan Knowles just a year older. That's an exciting core to build around for the next World Cup, as well as this one.
There's also 24-year-old Mikolaj Oledski and Wigan's Kai Pearce-Paul, 21, waiting in the wings in this squad.
All of the seven to feature against France will add their own seasoning to the mixture and will be desperate to lay a claim to be first choice later down the line.
The French offer a challenge, but England will be hugely disappointed if they don't get a powerful win over 'Les Bleus'.
France haven't beaten England in a Test match since 1981 at Headingley, with a ridiculous scoreline of 5-1 that day - England's one point provided by a George Fairbairn drop goal, if you were wondering.
They've played more often against Great Britain in recent decades, but it's still 32 years since they beat the Lions - 25-18 in 1990 at Headingley again.
So everything points to an England win and they'll just be hoping they can do it with the flair and flourish they achieved last Saturday.
With a sellout crowd promised, the atmosphere should be electric.
But let's not get too carried away by England's opener. There will be some huge motivated opponents and explosive matches to get through if they are to go all the way. Samoa fell well short of expectations.
To reach the final, England will have to face Tonga at some stage in the knockout phase.
The Tongans were involved in one of the best matches of the tournament so far, but probably lucky to scrape a dramatic 24-18 win over Papua New Guinea. That should now be enough to see them safely on course to top Group D - and they will improve.
PNG were mightily impressive in that game and probably should have won. They will argue with some justification about a 'no try' decision from the video referee that went against them.
The Kumuls barely sparked when they last came to a World Cup over here in 2013, but made the last eight in 2017 and had a historic 28-10 win over GB in Port Moresby in 2019.
The country that lists rugby league as a national sport has possibly sent the strongest side in its history to this tournament.
New Zealand kick off World Cup with win over Lebanon
But watch out for the other big two, Australia and New Zealand. The Kiwis were solid, no more, in beating Lebanon but they will also improve.
And the mercurial Joey Manu laid claim to being the one to watch this World Cup with a dazzling array of skills, including his chip-and-chase try midway through the second half.
Manu and his mates should be able to fine-tune against Jamaica at Hull on Saturday.
And Australia, with so many new caps in their ranks and a headache-inducing squad numbering system, showed some sparkle in an overall workmanlike win over Fiji.
The highlight was the length-of-the-field try by winger Josh Addo-Carr, who might just be the fastest number nine at this tournament.
As for the other home nations, it's been a mixed bag so far.
Ireland's confidence will have been inflated by the manner of their success over Jamaica. They have a seriously decent squad with NRL star Luke Keary playing conductor as the Irish pack bang out the right notes.
Their match against Lebanon at Leigh on Sunday will almost certainly decide whether they make the quarter-finals. Win and they can have a 'nothing to lose' crack against New Zealand a week later.
Scotland's defeat to Italy might just be tournament-defining for them. You don't give them much of a chance against Australia on Friday night and that could leave them with nothing to play for when they come up against Fiji in their third and final group game.
They'll be keeping their fingers crossed that the Fijians can keep the group wide open by beating Italy in Newcastle on Saturday.
And what an effort by Wales. Fantastically motivated and playing above the expectations of outsiders, the Welsh part-timers were perilously close to upsetting the Cook Islands.
But they now have a Snowden-sized mountain to climb to keep their World Cup dreams alive.
It's next stop Tonga for them on Monday, but the ground will shake at St Helens if Wales could manage a mighty shock against one of the tournament's fancied sides.
Fixtures & BBC Sport coverage
Friday, 21 October
Australia v Scotland (19:30 BST, BBC Two & BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra) - Coventry Arena, Coventry
Saturday, 22 October
Fiji v Italy (14:30 BST, BBC Red Button & BBC Sport Online) - Kingston Park, Newcastle
England v France (17:00 BST, BBC Two & BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra) - University of Bolton Stadium, Bolton
New Zealand v Jamaica (19:30 BST, BBC Three) - MKM Stadium, Hull
Sunday, 23 October
Lebanon v Ireland (14:30 BST, BBC Two) - Leigh Sports Village, Leigh
Samoa v Greece (17:00 BST, Red Button & BBC Sport Online) - Eco-Power Stadium, Doncaster
Monday, 24 October
Tonga v Wales (19:30 BST, BBC Two & BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra) - Totally Wicked Stadium, St Helens
Tuesday, 25 October
Men's: Papua New Guinea v Cook Islands (19:30 BST, BBC Three) - Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington