Rugby League World Cup: Why England's men could go all the way

England head into Saturday's Rugby League World Cup semi-final meeting with Samoa hoping to take another step towards ending 50 years of hurt.

The last-four encounter at Emirates Stadium comes a day after the 50th anniversary of Great Britain's success in 1972, the last time a British side won the Rugby League World Cup.

England have excelled in defence and excited in attack, winning all four of their games in convincing fashion after coming into the delayed 2021 tournament as contenders, but not favourites.

Their huge 60-6 victory over an undercooked Samoa in the tournament's curtain-raiser set the tone.

And Shaun Wane's team has scored 242 points, while conceding just 34 as their NRL-based contingent, rejuvenated veterans and dynamic wingers have come to the fore.

But are the host nation ready to reach the final and end southern hemisphere domination? BBC Sport looks are some of the reasons optimism has built around England's hopes.

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Fast starts and senior players

England have enjoyed half-time leads in all four of their World Cup matches, with their first 40 minutes against Papua New Guinea described as "inspiring" and "as good as it gets" by former England captain Jamie Peacock.

Experienced players such as prop Chris Hill, who turned 35 last week, Tom Burgess, 30, and Kallum Watkins, 31, have been key figures in setting the tone to England's defensive intensity and carries forward.

All three are survivors of the 2013 and 2017 editions and Hill, who is enjoying a new lease of life since his joining Huddersfield from Warrington, is set to move to second on the all-time list of World Cup appearances with 16.

Burgess, who is set to become the fifth England player to win 30 caps on Saturday, has at times looked unstoppable and is justifiably in contention for the Golden Boot as international player of the year.

The South Sydney Rabbitohs prop featured alongside his brothers, George and Sam, in previous World Cups and is keen to draw on his past experiences to propel England to glory.

"I'm a bit older and wiser and feel like I'm in the best place in my career to perform well for England," Burgess told BBC Sport.

"I have been in finals and semi-finals and lost them. A World Cup is very special and I want to make every performance my best.

"Waney [Shaun Wane] likes us to be urgent and do it together. We know with our attack we can score points when we get going but we have to concentrate on our defence."

England's enterprising wingers and NRL stars

Traditionally England's powerful forwards have been the envy of the world. However, this time around there has also been plenty of evidence that once the hard yards have been gained the hosts have a significant array of attacking talent to turn that into points.

St Helens winger Tommy Makinson has showcased his superb ability to ground, convert and offload from the most unlikely of positions while Newcastle Knights wing Dom Young has been a revelation on the opposite side.

The form of both has kept England's record try scorer Ryan Hall, who has scored four tries in two starts, largely confined to the role of understudy.

Young, who left Huddersfield in 2019 because of a lack of opportunities, has enhanced his burgeoning reputation with nine tries so far to leave him two behind Australia's Josh Addo-Carr as the competition's top try scorer.

Makinson, who spent time on loan at Rochdale Hornets and Whitehaven earlier in his career, made history against PNG when he became the first player to score five tries for England in one match, taking his tally for the tournament to seven.

His formidable partnership with Brisbane Broncos centre Herbie Farnworth has been one of the highlights to England's offensive play.

"We know we can get even better and we're just looking forward to playing a World Cup semi-final for England," Farnworth said.

"We'll come out firing just like we did against PNG. We'll make it a real fast, tough game and we will back ourselves."

England's other Australia-based players Elliott Whitehead, Luke Thompson and the impressive Sydney Roosters forward Victor Radley all look set to face Samoa, with former stand-off Kevin Brown saying Wane's side has few weaknesses.

"You can see the threat on the left and the right and they look strong in the centre," said Brown.

"England look so well balanced at this moment in time. It is time to get excited. We are more than capable of winning this World Cup, there is threat all over the field. You can't just shut one person down.

"The balance of the side is so impressive and they have superstars all over the field."

Wane's Wiganers

There is also a familiarity and understanding between Wane and several of his players that has worked in England's favour, to make light of players being spread across different continents and the limited number of warm-up matches together.

Half-back George Williams has looked back to his best under the man who also handed him his first-team bow at Wigan in 2013 and staked his reputation on his selection after he had endured a miserable Super League campaign with Warrington.

John Bateman, a Wane signing, now in his second spell at Wigan, is reportedly attracting admiring glances from the NRL again having previously played for Canberra.

Catalans Dragons hooker Michael McIlorum, 34, was recalled to the international fold by Wane after a nine-year absence in the summer and has not looked out of step renewing old partnerships under his former Wigan boss.

Then there is the two-time Man of Steel winner and captain Sam Tomkins, another multiple Grand Final winner, who missed out on selection for the 2017 World Cup under previous England coach Wayne Bennett.

Their captain-coach relationship goes back some 15 years, with Tomkins' career running almost parallel to that of Wane, who nurtured him as a young player at the Cherry and Whites before helping him to develop into one of the stars of the game.

In an international arena where there is little time to develop a culture and cohesiveness, many of England's players are well versed in Wane's methods.

"In rugby terms, people score amazing tries and come up with big tackles but there's a hundred things that the average spectator wouldn't see," Tomkins told the High Performance Podcast.

"These are what we call 1% efforts and they'd be highlighted after a game, and be held in much higher regard than a try or a tackle, some working, when the ball's away, working an extra three metres to cover a little bit of space.

"It was the tiny little details. Shaun Wane says it all the time, 'anything you do is everything you do' and getting all those little things right makes it easier to get those fancier tries."