RLWC2021 – England v Papua New Guinea: Team news, how to watch on TV & predictions

Josh McAllister 03 Nov 2022 2:53 PM

Everything you need to know – England v Papua New Guinea.

Hosts England face Papua New Guinea in the second of the men’s quarter-finals on Saturday. Shaun Wane’s side finished the group stages at the top with wins over Samoa, France and Greece.

Meanwhile, the Kumuls finished group D in second spot, claiming wins over France and Cook Islands.

Match details

England v Papua New Guinea
Date: Saturday 5th November
Kick-off time: 2:30pm
Venue: DW Stadium Wigan
Quarter-finals

England v Papua New Guinea team news

England 19-man squad: 1. Sam Tomkins, 2. Tommy Makinson, 3. Kallum Watkins, 4. Herbie Farnworth, 6. Jack Welsby, 7. George Williams, 8. Tom Burgess, 9. Michael McIlorum, 10. Elliott Whitehead, 12. John Bateman, 13. Victor Radley, 14. Dom Young, 15. Morgan Knowles, 16. Matty Lees, 17. Mike Cooper, 18. Chris Hill, 20. Mike McMeeken, 21. Marc Sneyd, 24. Kai Pearce-Paul.

Papua New Guinea 19-man squad: 1. Alex Johnston, 3. Nene Macdonald, 4. Justin Olam, 6. Kyle Laybutt, 7. Lachlan Lam, 8. Wellington Albert, 9. Edwin Ipape, 10. Sylvester Namo, 11. Nixon Putt, 12. Rhyse Martin, 13. Jacob Alick, 15. Dan Russell, 16. McKenzie Yei, 18. Kevin Appo, 19. Jimmy Ngutlik, 20. Rodrick Tai, 22. Jeremiah Simbiken, 23. Watson Boas, 24. Zev John.

What the two camps are saying

England’s Jack Welsby said: “I’ve played against PNG blokes like David Mead before so I know what to expect but it doesn’t get much bigger than a World Cup quarter-final,” he said. “It’s pretty big and pretty special.

“This is a stepping stone and we want to go on and win it.”

Papua New Guinea star Justin Olam said: “England have a pretty good team. They have the home advantage as well. But we’re going to go back to the drawing board and look at their games and how they play.

“We’ve not spoken about England so far, just one week at a time. The coaches know what to do and we have a short turnaround. We’ve got to focus on us and play to our strengths.”

How can I watch the game on TV?

Every game across the men’s, women’s and wheelchair World Cup tournaments is being broadcast by the BBC.

England v Papua New Guinea is live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

READ: How to watch every Rugby League World Cup game on the BBC

Odds and predictions

England are heavy favourites at 1/40 with Planet Sport Bet. Despite beating Great Britain just three years ago, Papua New Guinea are at a massive 9/1 to win this one.

All the pressure is on Wane’s side on home soil, and they should have the squad to secure a place in the semi-finals. But in sport, you never know.