England overcome France with big second half
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Four second-half tries from England has seen them past a resilient France 42-18 in Bolton, with former Raiders half George Williams starring in the halves.
After trailing 18-0 after 25 minutes, France fought back with a pair of converted tries to be behind by just six at the break, but couldn't match it with England in the second period.
Short of Greece pulling off a couple of massive upsets, the win means England are safely through to the quarter-finals as the top seed out of Group A.
Shaun Wane's side completely dominated field position on their way to the 18-0 lead - helped by a double to prolific wing Ryan Hall - before France hit back with a pair of tries to trail by just six at half-time.
But the second stanza was all England, with tries to to their NRL contingent of Elliott Whitehead, Victor Radley and Dom Young helping to see off the French threat.
Match: England v France
Round 2 -
home Team
England
away Team
France
Venue: University of Bolton Stadium, Bolton
Match Snapshot
- Ryan Hall scored the first two tries of the match to take his personal tally to 37 tries in 29 Tests, while Marc Sneyd kicked a perfect seven from seven in his England debut.
- Both Hall and Knights flyer Dom Young registered over 200 metres of running.
- Tom Burgess was sent to the sin bin and put on report for contact off the ball in the final minute of the game.
- England centre Kallum Watkins left the field with a head knock on 50 minutes and failed his HIA, meaning he will miss England's final group game.
- Following Hall's double inside 15 minutes, some nice build-up from Victor Radley saw him put Luke Thompson over for England's third, before Arthur Mourgue got one back for France off a grubber which took a deflection.
- After forcing an error as England came off their own line, the French took full advantage to score through Eloi Pelissier.
- Former Warriors fullback Sam Tomkins didn't return to the game after half-time and was replaced at fullback by Jack Welsby in a tactical switch.
- A late offload from John Bateman put Elliott Whitehead over to restore a 12-point lead for England.
- Tries to Roosters enforcer Victor Radley and Knights centre Dom Young got England to a 36-12 lead.
- Young went the length of the field on an intercept, before France got one back with five minutes to play through Arthur Romano.
- England ran for 2109 metres compared to France's 1348.
Play of the Game
Given the chance to show his top-flight speed, Dom Young didn't disappoint. The young Knights back continued his strong start to the tournament with this eye-catching effort, which was his second try of the game.
What they Said
"We did some really good things, we just weren't consistent enough. We are into the Greece [game] week and we will just take it [as it comes]" - England coach Shaun Wane
"The first 30 minutes was tough for us and England put massive pressure on us, but we got back into the game which I think we can be proud of. I am proud of the effort of the boys, we challenged a great England team in a few areas." - France coach Laurent Frayssinous
What's Next
England finish up group play with a match against Greece in Sheffield, while France take on Scotland in Warrington.
