England v France Rugby League World Cup

This week, three of the De Jager it

is week three of 27 World Cup, the

final round of group games. -- it is

week three of the 2017 World Cup.

Coach Wayne Bennett has rung the

changes, Mike McMeeken, Percival,

Kevin Brown and Scott Taylor come

in. Elliott Whitehead and Josh

Hodgson are rested.

Jon Wilkin, Jonathan Davies and

Kevin Sinfield join me. Kick-off is

in half an hour. Let's start the

programme with exactly the same

question I have asked before both of

England 's the matches, what are you

looking to see from England?

And

improve performance. We were

probably all disappointed watching

England last week, particularly the

second half. With the changes we

made today, with what is at stake in

the coming weeks, I think they will

perform fantastically well. When I

look at the French team, I do not

see them troubling us.

Composure and

execution. Creativity was there,

even against Australia, but now they

have too taken to another level.

When they create opportunities they

had to finish them. Performance is

important but the scoreline, to make

a statement.

They should go out and

smash France, defensively they are

too strong, big and powerful.

Will knock the wind out of France.

But with the ball I would like to

see creativity, dynamism and points

on the board. England should be

beating France, and comfortably,

today.

Listening to you on the radio

when I was driving in, you said

maybe we need to put the Lebanon

result into perspective. Australia

only put 30 on them, similar to

England. Australia put 50 on France,

you would look to something similar

today?

If this game was in the UK or

France, we normally get a 50 point

victory over France. That is why we

have probably struggled over the

years, we want competition from the

French, more than what we get, which

prepares us for when we play the

southern hemisphere teams.

Looking

at our results in comparison to

Australia is dangerous, I think. We

could win this game by two points,

four, six, and we could go on and

play fantastically well in the

quarterfinals.

Why is it dangerous

if they are the barometer?

Every

game is unique, no two games and

rugby league have been the same, no

two sports games. We want to beat

France, and well, but to try to

compare with how Australia played

against France's dangerous.

Australia robotic, they go through

the sets, they will not try to score

on every play like maybe England,

New Zealand or Tonga. They are

robotic and clinical. With England,

I feel they have to keep the

composure, don't worry about the

score, but don't try to score every

time they play the

score, but don't try to score every

time they play the ball.

Let me show you the group table,

going into this game. Australia

confirmed as group winners following

their 34-0 win over Lebanon

yesterday. England officially need

appointed to progress to finish in

second place.

France need to win by 16 points to

overtake Lebanon, 32 points to go

ahead of England.

Let's look at the England team.

Wayne Bennett has made some

interesting changes. Gareth Widdop

has moved to full-back. Stefan

Ratchford is on the wing, a position

he says he last played ten years

ago. Kevin Brown joins Luke Gale in

the halves. Jon, what

ago. Kevin Brown joins Luke Gale in

the halves. Jon, what do you think

will be the main effect of these

changes?

They are looking for a

full-back who can contribute,

attacking wise. Widdop is vastly

experienced as a full-back. They

will be looking for him to work with

the likes of Kevin Brown, who we see

warming up here, Kevin Brown, Luke

Gale, get out the back of players.

The reason -- the reason Stefan

Ratchford is on tour is for days

like today, utility value. He can

play on the wing, centre, maybe

half-back, that is huge value, you

need players like that on tour.

Widdop at full-back, he is

accustomed to that position and

through his days early on at the

Melbourne Storm, you will understand

the intricacies of playing that

role. Gareth Widdop has a bigger

part to play for England in this

tournament, I do not believe it is

in full-back.

Last week we spoke

about the fact that Hardaker was a

massive loss. Lomax, Widdop,

Ratchford, they play like an extra

half-back. England need an outer

full-back. You have the ball players

in six and seven and O'Loughlin, you

need the exit man out wide. We have

seen how they have created against a

better side, now they need to finish

by being an outer note full-back and

finishing the moves or creating them

for the two special wing as we have.

Is it a difficult balance for Wayne

Bennett to ring the changes on one

hand and give people game time in

case they are needed, but at the

same time there must be an urge to

keep playing the same guys in the

same positions to give them

continuity?

Yes. It is a really

interesting question. We won't know

the answer to that until the game

starts, probably not until

half-time. We have 14 Super League

stars, it is brilliant for our game

in this country. I think the changes

provide opportunities. Having been

in squads like these myself, and

both these guys have as well, you

want the environment to be great.

You find the players who are not

playing make the difference. For

these guys to get a run and get an

opportunity, to show Wayne what they

can do, I think it is fantastic.

Whether they go on and get picked in

the future in this World Cup this

year is irrelevant. What it will do,

it will settle them down and know

that they have won the jersey in the

camp and they will be fantastic for

what is to come.

There are two camps, one is that you

need to give players an opportunity,

the other, which I am in, you play

your best side, you build through

the tournament and you progress and

play better as a performance and as

a team. He has rested some of the

crucial players, but they have had a

days' rest. For me, you build, pick

your best players and the

left-centre position, as we said

last week...

But it is hard to try things for

Wayne Bennett. You have a foot in

both codes of rugby, the lack of

international games in rugby league

means he can't experiment in the

same way that you saw Warren Gatland

do yesterday or I saw Eddie Jones

do, it is hard.

I agree, but you know your best

players. You should know your centre

partnership, your half-back

partnership, your backstreet

partnership, you're back three in

the forwards. There is no right or

wrong, it is what he feels is right

at that particular time. Do you keep

the squad happy? But if you are in

the squad you are the number one

position. There is an opportunity

for personal and Kevin Brown to

force their way into the semifinal,

maybe.

The likelihood is we will only

retrospectively look back at this,

we will look back next week of

England played poorly in the first

of next week in the quarterfinal we

will highlight, well, Wayne Bennett

mess the team around, the continuity

was not there. If they start well we

will be saying, you know what,

didn't he do well refreshing

everyone at bringing it in?

Honestly, I think the impact is

negligible either way, honestly. He

is resting key guys, they will come

back into the squad chomping at the

bit in a World Cup quarterfinal and

continuity will be built in

training, not so much the 80 minutes

we will watch now.

We have been away on tour together,

Kevin is so right to mention the

importance of the players who do not

play, and their mentality, because

they drag the squad up.

That is

irrespective if they play or not.

They are even more important if they

do not play. Thankfully the weather

is nice!

There are harder places to

be!

Yes! Errors -- irrespective of

the result today, whether it is a

disjointed performance or not, I

think they will win, it will have no

impact on the game.

Let's get the thoughts of our

commentary team in Perth, Dave Woods

with Crockett and Tubbs!

One of them can't hear you. It is a

very English feeling about the whole

situation today, there are hundreds

of thousands of England fans who

have flooded into Perth in the last

week or so, more than Melbourne or

Sydney, it is like a Wembley final,

Challenge Cup final, lots of fans

wandering around from various

northern outposts. The guys in the

studio were talking about the

feeling within the squad, not so

much what goes on here today but

what has happened in training. We

have been to training several times

this week, what have you made of the

dynamics are training?

It is a happy group, I listen to the

debate in the studio and, for me,

Wayne Bennett knows his 17 for next

week. I think it is important the

fringe players have a run, will

Kevin Brown be strong enough? I

would have liked to have seen Bale

at Widdop have another run at

combinations. I think it is about

fluidity. I think Wayne Brown...

Bennett knows his empty the next

week. Both Sam Burgess and Lomax

were training full-out, I expect

them to play next week. Fresh

bodies, fresh minds. It is important

that these are the blogs show their

wares, but will they realistically

make the team? Not sure. -- these of

the blokes show their wares.

If

somebody would have said six months

ago that John Bateman and Stefan

Ratchford would have been the

England centre partnership, people

would have raised their eyebrows.

This Kevin Brown generally have a

chance of playing himself in? Mike

McMeeken, Scott Percival etc? About

Kevin Brown's form was not great for

Warrington, but in the one-off test

against Samoa he was crucial to how

they played. I felt there had been

running overs, running towards the

sideline, taking away their space.

I

think he could make a real

statement, I think England need to

make a statement. They have been

very good defensively, very

authoritative forwards, but clunky.

We have talked about lacking with an

attack. Widdop made his trade as a

full-back through the Melbourne

Storm system, he is one of the best

attacking players. I feel like with

more freedom at the back you could

be the answer.

We have seen in town,

they look Ferreyra lacks but we are

hearing from camp that France is the

happiest camper. Eloi Pelissier has

been sent home. Will they genuinely

challenge England?

In the first 20

minutes, yes. They had a real dig

against Australia. They will need to

look after the ball, be patient. I

agree with the studio that England

will win, I am interested in how

they attack and the fluidity of

attack, the other parts of the game

have been going well.

Great

conditions for England.

It was very

warm earlier, all the England fans

sitting in the stands, they will be

very red tomorrow. Completion rates

have been low, they're not getting

to the end of their sets, but of

England hold the ball and keep the

pressure they will take it away

early.

There have been lots of England

supporters in the ground for two or

three hours already. There will be

lots of pink English supporters

tomorrow, we hope they will be happy

supporters as well.

STUDIO: Thank you to Dave, Ian and

Brian. Let's hear from the England

camp. Ben Currie scored a try

against Lebanon last weekend, during

this week he has been speaking to

Dave.

There is a gap, there is a try

for Ben Currie.

I couldn't believe

it. I got through a gap, could not

mess up from there, I managed to get

over the line. It has been a goal of

mine. Back home, my parents and all

the family have been loving it, it

is a real achievement. It has been a

tough year. Managed to get four

games overall in two different

patches. It is good that Wayne

showed faith in me and brought me to

the tournament, good to be playing

again.

How dark a time was that 12, 18

month period?

It was tough, never

had an injury before in my life, to

miss any games. Straight into the

deep end with this, about ten months

it was in the end. It was tough, all

my family and friends around me

really helped me, all the staff at

the time, really got me through it.

It will be Kerry! Currie!

I was

nearly in tears watching the try at

Wembley. My family and friends have

been my whole career, my dad driving

me around as a child.

Wayne as a

coach, people speak very highly. He

is difficult for us to speak to but

the players say he is great within

the camp. What are you learning from

him?

He is great, different to what

I have been used in the past. I see

why you say that but he relaxes in

camp more. He says it how it is. He

will not look after anyone the

video, it's a man has Mr P will let

them know. -- someone has messed up.

He is straight to the point and does

not beat around the bush.

There is a

lot of experience, a lot of leaders

in your squad, within the NRL, what

are you learning?

I have watched

them growing up as a kid, it is

great to play alongside them. People

like Sam Bergersen James Graham I

watched as a kid, it is great to be

alongside them on the field --

people like Sam Burgess and James

Graham. Just seeing how professional

they are around training and game

days.

England's chances in this

World Cup?

I think there is a real

good chance for us to win. A few

players past coaches have said that

watching from the outside they see

it as a good chance, one of the

biggest chances we have had in a

long time. We are confident in the

camp.

Do you think he is set for a stellar

career?

Without a doubt. This

season, the injuries he has had,

looking back to last year we thought

that Ben Currie would be the main

man in Super League and

internationally this year. That

probably has not happened due to his

injuries, but next year Ben Currie

will light up Super League. I think

he deserves his place, despite

relatively... Well, very few

appearances.

I would like to see him in the

centre, he is a real handful, good

angles, deceptively quick for a big

man.

Instead of Bateman?

Yes, we

ventured last week, he is not an

international centre. I think to win

the World Cup he needs X Factor

players, Ben Currie could be that X

Factor player.

Ben Currie is not an

international centre, we are trying

to plug a gap.

What is clear with

Ben Currie, he came through as a

centre, and because he was a big

centre he was put in the back row,

because that is what happens in this

country, but I would love to see him

left-centre, and I think there is a

spot the Bateman in the 17, seeing

him do what he does for Wigan would

be fantastic.

He is an impressive individual. Jon

mentioned what he could be in the

future, I think he is not far off.

He is very, very impressive. I saw

him recently at a fallout session, a

training session for the guys who

did not make the play-offs who were

likely to be selected for England

before the World Cup. He was head

and shoulders above everybody, skill

wise, speed wise, they did a fitness

session on the watt bikes and he

blew everybody away.

Hopefully he

has had his bad run of injuries now

and if he plays consistency...

Everybody is excited to see more of

him. The more we see of Ben Currie,

the better the English rugby.

Was he

as impressive off the field and

around the fallout camp as he was on

it? In that interview he seemed like

a very level-headed lad?

Very

level-headed, very respectful of the

senior players, very punctual, did

all the things a good professional.

What is important for me, he has had

adversity at an early age. He lost a

Challenge Cup final with Warrington,

he has had a bad injury in the last

year and has come through in flying

colours, that will stand him in good

stead for a brilliant ten or 15 year

career.

That really tests your hunger, there

was a lot of resurgence of art,

adversity at the start of your

sports career can be really

beneficial towards the backends --

there is a lot of research into

that. Adversity comes in all sorts

of forms and sport, usually it is

lack of form, performances, losing

big games, injuries are a huge part.

For a young athlete to overcome that

shows you what is deep down inside

Ben Currie, there is a hunger and an

appetite to play rugby league at the

top level.

Injury is a massive

factor, how you cope with it

mentally when you are in the camp,

in his interview he sang the players

and staff are foals, it is a tough

place to be -- he thanked the

players and staff of Wolves. His

injury will give him the zest. I

tore my cruciate when I was 19 and

was out of the game for 14 months. I

could not wait to get back. I think

that is the position Ben is in, as

the boys said, hopefully not next

season, hopefully this World Cup

will be a stage for him to make an

impact and build for next season.

Is

it a cliche to say you appreciate

the game more?

Yes, all of these

players have been superstars for me

at a young age, their expectations

have always been there. All they

suddenly get 18 or 19 and sometimes

you think, I tell you what, I have

had enough of this game and

sometimes you walk away from any

particular sport. Sometimes that

injury and a break from it goes...

You really appreciate where you are

at and then you come back and think

you are into it.

It tests your

appetite, he has had a good test.

What we do not see or hear, Wayne

Bennett is in communications with

him throughout the last few months

of the season.

Tells him if you can

get back fit, placing games, you

will be in my squad. That would have

been a huge carrot dangling for Ben.

That is the side of Wayne Bennett we

do not see.

We do not see that, man

management, keeping everyone

happy...

Has he not been calling

you?

Not me, no.

Calling you?

No.

He calls Kevin all the time. Let's

head back to Dave Woods in

Australia.

As you can see, Jamie Peacock

alongside us. The weather is not

bad, the sun is out, warm, a nice

breeze, perfect for rugby league?

It

is great today to play the game. The

last few days in Perth and certainly

Fremantle have been brutal in terms

of the temperatures. We were at a

remembrance service in our suits

yesterday and a few people were

passing out, but now it is perfect,

it is a wonderful stadium to play in

and a good surface. Will you four

weeks ago, the lads are looking to

play.

The English are coming, there

are hundreds, thousands of English

supporters.

Eye would just like to

say hello to my wife and kids at

home, while we are on the English

excavation but fantastic, you see

more and more than turning up, great

support. The boys appreciate

everyone coming out and supporting

the team.

How is life in the camp? You had a

couple of days off because it has

been fairly hard training before

this week? Gilbert has been full on,

lots of travelling, all around

Australia.

Fremantle has been

excellent, it

is a wonderful place, very friendly

and the training has been great.

When you play Australia you have an

emotional dip, a bit of a hangover,

you could feel that around training

but this week the guys have been

zipping along.

Jonny Lomax and Sam

Burgess are not available, we have

watched them train separately, still

OK for the quarters?

I think they

will be there or thereabouts, they

are pushing very hard to play, you

do not get many chances to play in

the quarterfinal of the World Cup

for England.

What about the French?

Unless they win by 2526 today they

are going home, what do you expect

from them?

I think they will be

game. Against Australia, a great

side, they did not give in. They

showed a lot of spirit. I think we

should just worry about our own

performance and the things we want

to concentrate on to allow us to

progress.

Good luck today, go well, we will

see how the match goes.

Back to you. STUDIO: Thank you,

David Jamie. We have not focused on

the French, let's do that. One of

the French players this morning is

Theo Fages, of St Helens. He has

spoken to Dave.

Theo Fages has made a try!

Theo

Fages!

First of all, what is the mood in

the French camp?

We know we had to

win this game, we are training for

this and working hard, we don't want

to give up. There is one more game

and we need to perform and win to

qualify.

What have you made of the English

performance so far in their opening

two?

Against Australia was good, I

thought, they gave them a good game

and nearly won. Against Lebanon, it

was a bit of a North game. But I

think they will play good against us

because they want to get ready for

the quarterfinals, we expect a

really tough game.

Young captain,

have you enjoyed that experience?

It

has been good so far, the boys are

all good, it makes it a bit easier.

Lots of interviews like this, but it

is a role that I am starting to

enjoy, I will get used to it. It is

not something I mind, really, it has

been good.

You are up against a

couple of your own team-mate, Mark

Percival gets a run out for the

first time. Would you be catching up

before the game?

Before and after,

hopefully. Percy is playing an James

Roby, it will be good to see them, I

have not seen them for a few weeks.

We had a good season together, good

to see some friends.

Can you

surprise the English?

Hopefully, we

will try our best to surprise them.

We are here to win, playing to win.

Hopefully we can have a good

performance.

performance.

First thing, as we look at the

French team, he has picked up a bit

of a northern accent.

It is good,

yes! Emotionally intelligent enough

to pick up a northern twang. A great

player, he has been fantastic for us

this year. Really instinctive with

the ball, a tough challenge to lead

this French side because as Kevin

alluded to, when you look down the

team sheet, one thing they might be

lacking a star quality. Catalan

Dragons and Super League often

recruit from outside of their

country to bring star quality. Aside

from Theo Fages in this squad, we

are struggling for real star names.

How would you describe that team?

Workmanlike?

How would you describe that team?

Workmanlike?

Average.

That is

another way of it.

Unfortunately they do not have any

standout players. Cattle and have

got the big Australian and New

Zealand players, it is very

difficult. Looking at Lucas Albert,

the Luco, one cup and he is a strong

heart. Theo Fages is not the most

experience. -- most experience.

First 20 minutes they will give

everything. It could go either way,

they could hang in for a bit or get

busted.

Theo Fages is the one player

who could unlock England, with his

instinctive support play and the way

he can instinctively pick up loose

balls from the floor. Playing for St

Helens, he confined space, has great

football -- he can find space, has

great footwork. He is complimentary

to many of the guys we have, he is a

great professional, I do not think I

have trained with somebody more

professional. He literally adores

his trade, that has reflected in him

being selected as France captain at

such a young age.

Looking down the

French team, and you look at French

sporting teams of every sport, they

have a creativity and a flair, but I

do not see it with them. I think

they will try to spoil today. Jamie

Peacock said it was about our

performance, not worrying about the

French brain, let's nail it for us,

let's put in an eight or nine out of

ten.

Something we touched on last

week, didn't we, northern hemisphere

sides at the moment, England aside,

that they are struggling a little

bit compared to what we are seeing

in the southern hemisphere.

We are

dividing resources Craig Finlay, if

we split Ireland, Wales, Scotland

and England, we are coming from one

competition, in the Super League,

although some people are coming over

from the NRL, Yuko France in there,

we are dividing our competition into

Five Nations and the player pool is

not that big. The NRL have the

benefit of Tonga, Samoa, the Kiwis,

Australian, Fijians, PNG, there is a

bigger pool of guys. Over here, I

think there is not as big a pool.

That produces some...

It has been

very similar down there, they have

all gone back to their respective

countries, the Fijians are stronger,

Tonga or stronger, Samoa are

stronger, they have doubted not to

merge the Australian side but

definitely the New Zealand side,

that is why the competition looks a

lot healthier. That is the point we

have made, the NRL is of a higher

quality throughout those sites.

With ago Wales, Scotland, Ireland in

particular, the number of Super

League players in those three teams

compared to the last World Cup has

massively decreased -- we look at

whales, Scotland, I am a grim

particular. There are far too many

Championship and League 1 players

and we have asked them to step up

three or four macro levels to play

against NRL players.

The player pool

in our competition, the domestic

competition here, is not big enough.

There is a million reasons and we

can go into the commercial side of

the game, the grassroots side,

inspiring young people to play rugby

league and all of that, we could go

into that for an hour.

Not just yet,

we have a game to play.

I could bore

you to death.

Too later!

In fact,

just shut up! Let's hear from both

coaches.

REPORTER: Is a mixed performances

for your team, what is important

today?

Play better than we did last

week, just do better.

Positional

changes, what is that in a dog?

To

give everyone an opportunity to play

before the quarterfinals.

-- what is

that in aid of?

It is important

mentally, as well as from a team

perspective. I will pick the best

team, certainly next week.

Coaches

talk about team indicators of

performance, what do you look for?

Our Achilles' heel... Making poor

decisions at different stages and

giving force penalties away. So we

want to be the best, you have to

minimise those things.

Good luck.

Have fun.

Your last game of the World Cup, are

you looking for a big performance

from your team?

It is not the last

game. It will be our last game if we

lose. We know it will be a tough

game for us, but we improve the

level week after week. We worked

hard to fix the problems, and it was

better against Australia for 40

minutes. Now we would like to

improve our performance for 80

minutes. We know it will not be the

same game as last year. Today will

be different, a different

environment, and competition. If we

had to finish today, we want to

finish well, and try to get the

opportunity to win.

Good luck today.

STUDIO: Wasn't the

opportunity to win.

Good luck today.

STUDIO: Wasn't the greatest opening

question to him. They still have a

chance of staying in the tournament.

These are the results from earlier

on, Papua New Guinea thrashing the

USA.

It means there are two quarterfinals

already decided, Australia against

Samoa. And New Zealand against Fiji.

Let the non-would take on Tonga. We

will show you the highlights of the

game is taking

will show you the highlights of the

game is taking place today a little

later on. The big thing, Kevin, for

Wayne Bennett to be mistake free and

not make poor decisions, poor

decisions, he says, are their

Achilles' heel.

He has a very simple

philosophy to his coaching, make it

fun, keep it simple, and look after

your players. All his game plan is

around not making errors. If you get

50% of the ball and don't give it

away, you are in the game, in with a

shout. I think we will play with a

freedom about us, 14 Super League

dies in there, used to playing with

more freedom than the NRL guys are

used to. I think we will deliver

today.

He has coached some of the

greatest players in the game. He

respects the right decision to the

most sides. He exits mistakes. But

decision-making, make the right call

at the right time -- he accepts.

Keeping it simple, for me, is

paramount to England doing well. New

Zealand and Samoa didn't control the

ball, made mistakes. New Zealand

lost to Tonga, it was a lack of ball

control. Wayne Bennett is smart to

focus on a simple thing he can

control, no errors with the ball.

Also, the pack is massive. Don't

throw the ball about, absolutely

bury them, and when they are gone,

spread it about.

The walk out of the

tunnel hasn't gone particularly

smoothly. They have gone a yard and

stopped. If you are at the back of

that line, you have bumped your head

on the guy in front of you. France

are coming out now. This is it, the

final group game for England.

Hopefully, a quarterfinal place

waits after this. England against

France live from Perth with Brian

Noble, Ian Millward and our rugby

correspondent Dave Woods.

COMMENTATOR:, blogging, Jermaine

McGillvary, he will be pleased to

see him in the England side. We were

worried at one stage he might not be

available because of the suspension

that was looming over him, the

biting incident last week. I think

common sense prevailed, and he's

here. Four new faces in the England

side as well. And it feels very much

like a home game here in Perth,

chatting to one fella, an English

fella that Livesey, he reckons 25%

English expats live in this area. A

lot of tour parties arriving here.

It feels like the old days of the

British Lions, Brian Noble, former

British Lions coach.

It is

fantastic.

Great fan support.

Lots

of English flags, 5000 or 6000

people at least. At least 1000 will

look like rock lobsters on the other

side. They have been there all

afternoon and they will be bright

red. It is a terrific atmosphere.

There is a group of Hebert, they are

not wearing white T-shirt, they are

very white. But they will be pink

tomorrow! We will have the two

national anthems in just a moment.

The French come here with a purpose,

they tell us what that purpose is we

will see in the next hour or so.

# God save our gracious Queen

Long live our noble Queen

# God save the Queen

# Send her victorious

# Happy and glorious

# Long to reign over us

# God save the Queen. #

Hopefully, you got a sense of how

many English men, women and children

are in the audience tonight. A great

rendition.

# Allons enfants de la Patrie

Le jour de gloire est arrive

# Contre nous de la tyrannie,

L'etendard sanglant est leve

# L'etendard sanglant est leve

# Entendez-vous dans les campagnes

Mugir ces feroces soldats

# Ils viennent jusque dans vos bras

Egorger vos fils, vos compagnes!

# Aux armes, citoyens

Formez vos bataillons

# Marchons, marchons

# Qu'un sang impur

Abreuve nos sillons!

# Amour sacre de la Patrie

# Que tes ennemis expirants

Voient ton triomphe et notre gloire

# Ils viennent jusque dans vos bras

Egorger vos fils et vos compagnes #.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

It's a very European feeling with a

very typical Australian backdrop,

England against France, the final

game in group a of this World Cup.

This is the way the French are

lining up, they have had a bit of a

few problems, their first choice

hooker sent home for disciplinary

reasons. Boudebza comes in, John

Boudebza comes in, the London

Broncos hooker, 12 of the 17 who

have either played or play in Super

League. You can see the England

side, Mark Percival, Kevin Brown,

Mike McMeeken giving a first start

in the tournament. Scott Taylor will

come off the bench at some point for

his first appearance in the

tournament. Whether they can play

their way into the starting line-up

next week, we will see. Jermaine

McGillvary happy to be here, a

slight worry about the disciplinary

issue last week, but no problems

when it came to it. The disciplinary

panel taking three minutes

ultimately to decide that he did not

have a case to answer on the biting

chance. We saw them play effectively

together in the mid-season Test

match against Samoa. Jason Baitieri,

one of the most experienced French

players, and Sean O'Loughlin. We

wondered whether he might be rested

for this game, Sean O'Loughlin, but

he is not. He is there, the captain,

leading from the front again. The

referee waiting for the countdown

inside the stadium, Phil Bentham, a

familiar face from Super League, the

video referee, should we need him,

and we normally do, Bernard Sutton

is the man in the box for any of

those contentious decisions.

All eyes on the big screen here. The

traditional countdown...

And we're underway. Sent skywards,

Gale underneath it. Graham will ring

it back. Let's here for the first

time since kicked off from the two

men alongside me, Brian Noble,

former Great Britain coach, and

alongside him, the former Wigan and

St Helens coach, Ian Millward.

The

French are clearly determined to

make a statement at the start of

this game. They want a big start,

the French, to stay in the game. The

coach is clear in his objective, he

wants a great performance from their

team, let alone England.

Starting

physically, that has been their

trademark for the tournament. They

have wilted in the second half.

Here

is a problem for Jason Baitieri.

I

was just about to mention Baitieri.

We can see on the footage, making

with the curry, and bang. Good

night, Vienna. He will be a big loss

to the team if the as to go to the

head bin. He got his head in the

wrong spot. There you go.

The point

you make, too, Brian, the bench for

England is very big and powerful.

Baitieri will have two come. They

are the rules. Straightaway, the

disadvantage highlights the way they

wilt in their games, but that bench

for England is powerful, and it has

the skills of Williams on top of it.

There is nothing wrong, he is coming

away here, he simply had his head in

the wrong place.

Nothing wrong at

all. He just had his head in the

wrong place. 10-15 minutes now on

the sideline.

His dad will be in the

crowd somewhere, a great

internationalist.

Jason Baitieri was born in Paris,

hence his qualification for the

French side. England back in

possession. But they're on the final

tackle here, only 30 from their own

line. Gale will put boot to ball.

Yaha brings it back towards the

middle here.

England had to be

careful. They have got to make sure

they go through all the things that

Wayne Bennett wants them to go

through, and not let the ill

discipline creeping as we have seen.

Boudebza rolls up at dummy half, he

has had contrasting stories about

the sending home.

Here comes Ruby, and England gifted

as ashen in a good position.

It was

a big knock-on. It ricocheted back,

and now a decent field position.

Roby waits. Graham to his side.

Roby rested in the last game, of

course, but a chance to shine here.

Gale goes left, Widdop is involved,

and cuts through! This will be in

good's opening try! Gareth Widdop

with a matter of two minutes played

scores, and England settling to the

task right from the start.

Putting a

tick in the box for Kevin Brown

task right from the start.

Putting a

tick in the box for Kevin Brown.

Luke Gale gets around the back and

outnumbers people on the fringes.

Gareth Widdop, B Holt opens up and

he puts his foot down. I think that

is the interjection. Kevin Brown can

play square of the line.

Great to

see Gale running. In the last couple

of weeks, he has been very

structured and mechanical way he has

gone about his business. We talk

about Widdop coming into the game,

but also Currie everyone plays a

part. Currie, tight lines to Brown,

timing was right. He was behind the

ball. This is what we expected,

England to improve as the tournament

goes on. I expect tonight to see

that constantly.

They do have fun

against the French, England. Rugby

league history will tell you, 42

times they have met, these two

nations. Great Britain have played

France is well down the years, but

England have won 35 of those 42, and

drawn two. That tells you the French

don't get much out of this fixture

down the years. There is a kick by

Widdop, equally as good as his

finish, and England lead here 6-0.

You talk about a slower tempo,

Brown. He drags defenders in. He

doesn't rush it. People on the

outside note that timing and roll.

Gale, a half-back posing a threat to

the line. England in the first two

games, they haven't posed enough

threat. Brian, if you go back to

what we talked about pre-game, and

giving everyone a run, let's say

they do have an absolute blinder

today, these halves, talking about

Brown, Gale and Widdop, do you pick

them next week? They will show they

are the best ones to attack on the

back of good defence.

I genuinely

think Brown is the best opportunity

if we are going to increase

fluidity. Gale running on the

outside, attracting the French

defenders. I think he knows, and is

sure, it is going to be a wow of the

game.

Jonny Lomax's fitness is the

other thing. He came with an injury,

and picked up an injury in the

second game as well. That may be a

factor yet. It is an insurance

policy that include playing.

The

inclusion of Brown takes Bridge.

The

kick has been dropped. It is going

to be a scrum. A scrum to England, I

think. The attacking team gets the

scrum. Very nearly a try. They will

take that.

He is saying it is an

8-point try. He tackled Luke Gale.

He was the only one likely to,

wasn't he.

Going back to the point

before the scrum, I think Kevin

Brown in there, if he can play

square, it gets fluidity going.

That's what we've not seen.

Two

sideways.

Five or so minutes played.

England with a scorch walked on, and

now with another opportunity. Ader

is one of those that hasn't played

in Super League so far in his

career. Back to Brown, and Roby

takes it in. Here they go, Currie

with a pass. Ratchford is over at

the left-hand corner, but he might

have spilled it at the very last.

That's the query troubling referee

Bentham's mind, just double-checking

the grounding. Here is Bernard

Sutton. REFEREE:

He has position at

this point. That's a try. He doesn't

lose control of the ball. There

isn't any separation between the

hands.

This is a wonderful start for

England, six minutes played, two

tries on the board, exactly what

England fans were hoping for and

expected.

The halves, seven, six and

one, but look at the park Roby plays

in this. In the first game against

Australia, he was the best hooker,

creating threats. But also, when the

ball comes on the sideline and

shifts it, he plays a big part, he

jumps in and understands he wants to

go, and Bayard a different team with

him. We are both big fans, but I

think he makes it a lot simpler for

his halves, because he runs more

than Hodgson as a threat. And he

plays the ball on the ground when

they needed, giving time. He plays a

big part in a of these tries.

Let's

have a look at Widdop's attempt from

the touchline. That is good as well.

Terrific kick. It is all going well

at the moment from England's point

of view, 12-0 daily.

Roby shows and

goes out the back. Everyone knows

their roles. Everyone is a body in

motion, Graham, the front row was,

they all there. Finishes it off.

That will put another ten years on

his career.

12-0 England lead. Seven

minutes played, just over. The

England coaching staff in the little

box to our left-hand side, trying to

gauge some of the body language in

there, but they look fairly

comfortable and relaxed at the

moment, which is hardly surprising.

The worrying thing for the French is

they are not going to get a rest.

Ian has mentioned the size of the

bench coming on. Jermaine McGillvary

rocking and rolling.

Roby again,

good hands from the full-back,

Widdop. Bateman freed temporarily.

Cover is back there. Ratchford, here

is Gale.

More good hands this time. Percival

away. Here comes MacGillivray trying

to crash between a couple, but he is

held up five out. One play to go,

Percival will have a go himself

here. Brown bats it back, Gale spins

away, and Graham is going to get

over the line and score England's

third. It is a rout already, eight

minutes played. England have three

tries. What a terrific start this

is. James Graham is joining the

party.

Don't worry about the try,

how smooth and fluid it was to get

to this stage of the field. The

movement across the line, everyone

knowing their role, the French

defence was scattered. Holes

everywhere. The big red gets a try.

I love the way they went down the

left, the pass from Widdop was

world-class. They opened up the full

field. I watched when they got over

to that side where Widdop put the

ball E went straight over to the

right-hand side, and we had six,

seven, the full-back and nine all

working together off the ball to

create the space over here with

McGillvary. It was a delight to

watch off the ball, and the movement

and skill, loved it.

Good to watch,

good to feel. I picked up on what

Jamie Peacock said before the game,

they are looking sharper, a tough

game against Australia, a bit of

travel, Lebanon, 22 points against

Australia. Widdop with the goalkick.

He has his goal-kicking broods on as

well. It is all going swimmingly

well.

Last night against Australia,

they are a spoiling team -- kicking

boots. They get amongst you and all

of that. They take it away from you.

I wish we could have seen coverage

of that movement. If they can

continue this, how confidence grows

as a tournament goes on. Keep in

mind, what were Wayne's words,

mistake free. He wants that. You

won't want them to get loose.

France

haven't had the ball.

I don't think

they have, have they.

That is a good

point.

They have, yes. They have.

But England have had more of it.

They have had one set, Brian. One

set to six.

They knocked it on.

O'Loughlin pushing forward. Roby,

the dummy half. Brown again.

Percival stepping away. Searching

back inside again.

They are

struggling to hang on here, France.

The French coach Aurelien Cologni,

sprightly in the pre-match

interview, ask about this being

their last game because they are

going home. It looks like they might

have already gone. The kick taken by

Bergal

have already gone. The kick taken by

Bergal.

I was going to say, we have

been critical of their attack,

England, going all to their right

side. Kallum Watkins, MacGillivray,

and also we have had over that side,

or all the brakes have come down the

left, let's spread the workload, and

all the breaks early have come down

the left.

I think that the fluidity

of the halves.

Last play in the set

for the French. They've got

themselves a second set. A good kick

from Lucas Albert, tantalisingly

close to a 40-20. Widdop had it

covered. Decent chase from the

French, which is good to see. They

were up there, in line.

Do your

best.

Bursting, and off he goes,

Jermaine McGillvary.

Ratchford is off again.

Made Samit is in this tournament,

Jermaine McGillvary, and if you more

to his name there. -- a few more.

I like it. Jermaine McGillvary has

gone from the line break to get back

on the wing.

How strong is the

Christmas he is so balanced. Coming

off his left and right, bumping

people off, he is so balanced.

The

second most metres in Super League

last season, Ian. Only Walmsley did

more.

There was space, a bloke had

an opportunity. The execution was

quite right. But I admire when

players can see that, read it and

react to it. That is what Kevin has

done.

The centre of the tournament getting

really serious, coming to light. All

sorts of cultural activity and lots

of entertainment, lots of reason to

enjoy the rugby league in the first

couple of weeks, but this third week

with Tonga's win against New

Zealand, and the atmosphere it

generated, the emotion produced in

New Zealand on the back of that

particular game, suddenly there is a

sense of four big nations in this

World Cup. And England matching the

expectations here so far as well.

The kick sees Widdop in control

again.

That was a 40-20, he kicked

it inside the 20, how cool was

Gareth?

Percival to his feet, Roby looking

to his right where McMeeken is

loitering.

What this formation does with Brown

in the team, it gives the ability of

Sean O'Loughlin, we have relied on

him to square the game up for

England in minibus back. It takes

the pressure off him.

Sixth tackle, Gale sends it skyward.

Bergal is over there, and decides he

didn't want to take the risk, and

off it goes.

We talk about teams

being too structured, you and me

have talked a lot about that. On

quite a lot of these sets, the

seven, six and one are on the same

side of the field. That is where

your better skilled players are, to

create opportunities. Brown at the

moment is not just sitting on his

right hand side, his movement across

to the other side, and all of a

sudden, Gale is getting out the back

of that, running, instead of being

the complete organiser. Let's

remember, he is still new to this

environment.

The French with hard yards to do

again from deep inside their own

half. Boudebza spinning it away.

Yaha to his feet and place. Boudebza

again.

Up to the halfway line. It's going

to be a penalty. Too much going on

in the ruck. France will start this

set in their most advantageous

position so far in this game. A

glance at the scoreline tells you

they've not exactly got hope in

their hearts at this stage. Here's

Garcia. Baitieri back on the field.

Cleared his head test. 15 metres

out, Boudebza stands and wait.

Options right and left. He goes to

the right-hand side, they get a

penalty.

O'Loughlin didn't get out

of the ruck, disrupting the play of

the ball.

Lucky. Lucky, because it

was comical the way they dropped the

ball. It wasn't up to standard. They

get a second stand. They need the

ball at the moment.

Repeat set.

Fages drops it out the back,

marshalled by the England defence.

They are being tested for the first

time here. Ader to Fages.

Sizeable amount of muscle in the

way. Graham adds his weight to the

situation as well. Albert with a

little grubber kick. England start

from Burma.

It wasn't the best kick

in the end.

They will have to be perfect night,

France, to get anything out of the

game.

Penalty for England. I think

he has dropped the ball.

Yeah, you

are right. You are right it is a

scrum.

Just going back to the kick,

Brian, that was a?

They need to get to the last tackle.

Lebanon were good at that. They stay

in rugby games even though they are

being beaten convincingly. The

French need that mentality.

Are you

trying to stifle the Gallic flair?

Here they come.

A third set effectively

back-to-back. France with a chance

to turn up the gas. Boudebza

strolled into position. He had a

people around to see what was

available. Beyond him into the hands

of Alberta. Now the full-back

Carella is involved.

Risque drop the ball, England had it

again.

Other than a couple of

glitches, England have defended

pretty well, the viewers will

recognise that. The French team will

have to be crafty and do something

different, they can't afford to give

the ball away. You might cause a

surprise but I doubt it very much

for this England defence.

36 years

and France last beat England at

rugby league at senior level, a 5-1

win at Headingley in 1981, which

tells you a bit about the imbalance

between these nations. It should not

be that way. Looking at the French

teams throughout the years, the

amount of players they have playing

in Super League, it should not be

such a mismatch on such a regular

basis. But that is how it seems to

me.

Percival came inside to get a bit of

the ball. A bit of work to do. Roby

again.

Quick hands, wooden steps into the

gap. -- Widdop steps.

Percival is getting up there

quickly, but there was a cluster of

French players, including Fouad

Yaha.

Widdop is getting the ball in

space, he is loving it at the moment

out there.

Hakim Miloudi was one of the first

traces, he missed the bus to the

airport, he missed his chance to

come to the World Cup. And they

called up another player instead.

Widdop has the area of the pitch

covered.

Ratchford is finding out that the

winger's job is not just standing on

the outside, you have to do some of

the work as well. England with a

flurry of early tries looking to put

themselves in good position.

Sharing

out the work Lord. People are

filling the field. -- filling the

workload.

In by Bateman. Here comes Roby.

Oelofse and spun it back. Oh, look

at this! Mark Percival will score

his try.

Chance given, chance taken. England

have their fourth score of this

early evening.

The French player

played the kick. The exciting thing

is the way the England players got

off the ball, got into their roles,

preserved the space, they did not

run out, they just created numbers

on the outside. Widdop looks so

comfortable, he is so good in regard

to committing the defender and

putting the outside play away.

Before they got to that ruck,

everyone went this is my role. I

watched Graham go to the post, I

watched Brown, they all moved and

went into position and they got the

benefits of it and they got the

rewards by everyone having a part.

You may question the French defence,

but it is so nice to see the

clinical aspect, the crisp hands,

the people in the right position,

preserving spaces on the fringes to

get the three on two or the two on

one in relation to executing. An

element of execution and an element

of calm about it, no rush, no panic.

There was not. Widdop is getting

better, and the two hearts,

especially Brown.

Oh, just on the outside. 22-0, it

remains.

When O'Loughlin got the

ball, he is the one who did all the

smart working, kept its square. The

people on the outside were running

out, they run out of space on the

defenders had only to push on. O

Loughlin knew it was near the line,

he said he had to give early ball.

But gave up to the hearts. When the

defence tried to climb in, Widdop

was out the back. I really like the

O'Loughlin, Widdop, Brown

partnership.

You might have picked

up one choice words on the crowd

affects microphone. If you have and

have taken any offence, we do

apologise and hope it has not

spoiled your entertainment watching

and listening here.

There is a bit

of a rest coming for this French

team. They are monsters!

They are

fresh and they feel they have

something to prove. Roby had a look

around.

Tom Burgess scored that try from a

similar position against the lab

anon in the last game. -- against

the Lebanon.

That was nearly brilliant.

That is

the difference between Roby and

Hodgson. I can understand why

O'Loughlin is going for that. Here's

a good player. You are backing him

everyday. Alarm bells went Roby

runs. I feel Hodgson looks for a run

for himself, Roby looks for a run

for the team.

The best thing about

Roby, he is purposeful. The alarm

bells ring when he does not run.

Let's have a look at this.

It is a

finger to the face.

A finger in the

eye.

It is an accident.

France with a bit of relief, they

have got the ball in hand.

Neville Djalout of the Catalan

Dragons, of complaint. He only made

his debut earlier this year against

Huddersfield. Brought back by

Benjamin Jullien. He is a good

player. We talk about players out of

position, he probably feels more

comfortable in the second row them

out in the centres.

Albert kicked that are way ahead of

Thomas Burgess. A diving catch from

Widdop, well played.

Made it a bit

harder than it should have been. A

great diving catch.

He has got him

on for offside. They were in front

of the Kicker and have made the

tackle.

England looking to find position

again. Four tries. If you are just

switching on, four tries in these

opening 26, 27 minutes. Set off at a

real pace, three tries in the

opening eight.

Percival look to step into a gap,

but three defenders were there.

The long backed McMeeken given the

task of bending and picking up and

delivering a pass. Kevin Brown was

almost through.

The width from dummy

half.

And a penalty for too much

messing about on the ground.

Another set. Six more tackles to

come. Lead in the first instance by

Walmsley. Roby lost the ball, the

French handlebar. The referee has

decided it was offside -- Roby lost

the ball, the French handled that.

Another penalty for England.

Roby will tap again. Walmsley again

will slam it in. Plenty left, plenty

right. Bateman stepped away.

Bateman's reaching, fancies he has

got this. I think the referee will

agree. Yes, eventually. Decides to

give the try. Lucas Albert is

furious, but John Bateman has

England's fifth try of the night.

He

had a two on one. All he needed to

do was cash in.

Plenty of opportunities on the

fringes for this England team.

Spaces are opening up because of the

different way they are approaching

things. We saw the width from the

dummy half which opened up a

one-on-one for him. There was

another one-on-one opportunity on

the fringe for John Bateman.

Only

had four on the left unsaid. Like

you said, it was not just pass,

pass. They disguised it. Bateman is

not a great passer of the ball. I

keep begging the question, there

have to be more centres in England's

than you have to keep picking

Bateman?

Without being overcritical

of John Bateman...

We are not being

critical...

I will put a point,

against a better team, he does not

score there. There is the kick from

Widdop.

If you are an Australian,

New Zealand, Tongan centre, you

would be stopped there. Roger

Goodell in the clear.

The winger has

to come up with the body, he comes

up with nothing. He will probably

jam in a normal game. They don't

think he has a pass in him. He has

not got a great pass, he will jam.

The winners come up with nothing. I

am not being critical, I think he is

an outstanding player but I think he

is a back row. There has to be some

or proven centres that we have to

keep putting a back row in the

centres, that is the question I am

posing.

He made his debut against

France couple of years ago and

scored two tries on Matt 's debut,

here he hears playing against the

French again, he has scored again.

-- two tries on bats debut. England

lead 26 Ivan zero, 30 minutes

played.

They want more. -- England lead

26-0. They are looking for a

quarterfinal against Papua New

Guinea in Melbourne next week, the

potential of a semifinal against

Tonga in Auckland in a couple of

weeks. That'll be an occasion, I can

tell you. Potentially heading for a

final in Brisbane.

England is beginning to ramp things

up.

Here comes McMeeken. Five gone, the

last to come. Brown puts it high.

England were pretty methodical. The

French are trying it hard to hang

on. -- finding it hard.

I think the French had to win by

about 20 odd points today to get

themselves into the quarterfinals.

Not that there was any danger of art

before kick-off anyway. But a very,

very distant ambition has been

snuffed out completely. Five gone,

here comes the last. Garcia got

himself there. Theo Fages booted it

away. There will be a note in Wayne

Bennett's little Black book. They

have to get rid of the mistakes. It

does not matter in this situation,

but in another game it might and

that will count against McGilvray.

You're trying to get to the high 70%

completion rate, before that England

were at 84%. That is marvellous

completion rate, outstanding. But

those little things invite the wolf

to the door if you are playing the

other big teams such as Tonga,

Australia, New Zealand. You can run

the ball hard but you cannot give a

back that easily.

Friends have a

chance to try to get onto the ball.

Benjamin Jullien runs in very hard,

we see that week in, week out in

Super League.

Navarette has an appealing look at

the referee. He has agreed. They get

another set.

England's defence has been pretty

watertight so far in this game in

this tournament. They are

marshalling themselves again for the

moment. Anthony Maria tries to drive

it in.

Garcia! There is a sucker punch!

England's defence, from being

red-hot, is suddenly red-faced. That

was a soft try to concede, write and

to need the sticks.

The biggest

thing you say to a team defensively

is that the threat is in front of

you.

-- that has a soft try to

concede, right underneath the

sticks.

Disappointing, the strength

of England has been back goal-line

defence, it has been very, very

good. Lack of communication. The

ball was the threat. They went away

from the threat.

Well played,

Garcia.

Tom Burgess could not get

back. He spun around and finished

the play, they will be extremely

disappointed, England. As Ian

rightly points out, they prided

themselves on goal-line defence,

that was a sucker punch.

Not been a great two minutes for

Wayne Bennett, looking on, and his

team.

The state number one was the dropped

ball. Mistake number two, the

concession of the try. Albert put it

over. Friends have six points on the

board. 26-6. It has been flawless

apart from the last couple of

minutes.

Tom Burgess thinks the ball

has gone. Did not leave James Roby

too much to do. Smart play from the

French.

England's attack has been

outstanding. They have only had 35%

of possession, France, 265%. Which

shows how much England have

dominated field position and how

clinical they have been. -- they

have only had 35% of possession,

France, to 65%.

Just give them a bit of a break to

get to mare, gets energy in their

lungs and feel more about their

roles. -- to get some air.

The French certainly have a Ballance

in their stride. -- certainly have a

bounce.

Three tackles gone, England nine

away from the halfway line.

Great

line speed by the French.

He could not quite swing away from

the attentions of Ader. Brown under

pressure, get the kick away. A

little leap in the air by Keirallah.

England have had a scruffy five

minutes. They did not finish that

set as clinically as they have been

earlier in the game. That is off the

back of the French having more

enthusiasm.

I think Wayne Bennett is trying to

eradicate those kinds of mistakes

from the team.

Stop on. -- stop on.

-- spot-on.

Kicked away by Albert, it will

bounce out of play. Well played,

France.

We have said how good

England have been, but I think the

last five sets are belong to France.

They have found some decent kick

plays, been aggressive in defence.

There was the McGilvray drop in the

mistake on the goal-line, but the

French are turning up. The blurb I

have been whingeing when they would

kick it into touch, walk the scrum

and load up their defence. I think

it is the way to go, like you said,

they have some good going forward

but it is the back end on, and on,

and on. They need the recovery in

between.

Five more tackles here for

England at the back-end of this

half.

When they have been through

this process, England, generally

against good teams, Australia, New

Zealand and Tonga, an individual

will rock up, break the game open

again and take the enthusiasm away.

Just to underline, it is Brown and

Williams on the field.

St Helens against Wigan, the little

microcosm of action.

England's chase is good enough to

make sure that friends are only 12.

I am sending very critical but was

another poor end of a set for

England.

's

-- I am sounding very

critical.

I think he just overcooked

the kick a little bit. I think the

something of nothing.

Good line

speed and determination in that

little England tackle. The French

are not making a lot of yards here.

England's defence is being tested.

Fages jabs it away. Widdop, covering

across. Five seconds of the half

remain. McGillvary looking to sweep

them away.

WHISTLE BLOWS

Half-time, England 26, France six.

Widdop opened the scoring after only

two minutes. A very, very decent

start as far as England were

concerned in the opening eight

minutes with the three tries. A

couple of minutes they will look

back on towards the end when things

went a little awry with a couple of

mistakes leading to the French try,

I think we will go and hear from

Gareth Widdop, who is speaking with

the Brett down there. The two teams

are coming off, let's hear from

Gareth Widdop, with breasts. -- with

Brett. REPORTER: The scoreboard is

pleasing for England, what are you

most pleads with?

We got off to a

good start, this is what we spoke

about, starting ball, computing

high. If we can do the same in the

second half, we will come home well.

I think the coach will be happy?

Against about completion and good

discipline. We have done it for 40

minutes, we need to do to the next

40.

Benjamin Garcia, you got the

late try and that would give you

confidence?

I hope so. The defence

is not really good. We need to come

back in the second half more tough

and more physical.

Good luck in the

second half, don't run out

and more physical.

Good luck in the

second half, don't run out of puff.

Thank you, thank you.

STUDIO: BBC

One is covering the remembrance

service, the two minutes silence

will be observed very shortly over

on BBC One.

Here on BBC Two we will look back at

the England France first half. I

suppose they did everything, you

three, that you wanted them to do?

City get pretty happy, very much so.

For large spells of the half we

played like we know we can play. I

think we discussed it after the

Australia game. What is our DNA, how

do England play, what is our

strength? We are fit and dynamic, we

have big men in the middle who can

pass and create opportunities. The

combination of Gale, Brown and

Widdop was outstanding. Roby's

directness, his long balls,

unselfishly, and his darting runs, I

think it is our best 40 minutes so

far.

Gareth Widdop said we got off

to a decent start and completed

hard?

As the commentators said, maybe they

lost a little bit mid-weight because

of a fuel handling errors or ill

discipline, that'll happen, but when

momentum is with you you had to be

at your best, and England were.

Very, very comfortable. They will

not be happy with the try they gave

away, but as Kevin said, it is an

encouraging start. Australia are

robotic, the USB of the England side

is the ability of the big forwards

to put the ball behind. I think they

will be very, very happy.

With the

ball they have been very impressive,

only three errors in the first half.

Wayne Bennett talks about mistakes,

that is a comfortable number, he

will be OK with that. For me, they

put little encouraging sequences of

play together, big men playing with

big men, Loughlin and Graham keeping

the French defence honest. It was

typified in the first try.

Over me,

everything we spoke about, we saw

this, brilliant execution. They get

the numbers, a great decoy run, that

is where we want the full-back to

be. England want a full-back who

pulls the inside centre in, that is

the finish. For me, Brian Nowell

said maybe the 17 is there, but

watch the dummy run, pulls the

centre in, great finish, there are

too many outside. Everyone did their

job, everyone.

The pleasing thing

for me is Gale, we have not seen the

best of him in this competition.

When he is at his best is the way he

takes that ball to play.

Big men

playing with big men, Gareth Widdop.

Benefiting from the bigger players

in the middle of the field creating

space and finding himself in the

right spots. I think the best thing

for Gareth Widdop is working with

other people, getting into the right

position to get the ball when others

have created space for him. Ben

Currie's line created space, Luke

Gale's directness did. We have

talked a lot about Gareth Widdop and

we cannot neglect James Roby, James

Graham, Sean O'Loughlin, Luke Gale

and their hard work.

You did your

analysis last week, you showed us

where you wanted the ball to be and

Widdop has done exactly what you

said last week.

Azza Boy said, they

straightened up -- as the boys said.

Everyone straightens up. For me,

they are the creators, you need a

finisher. He has asked questions.

Widdop will play, but where is it

more beneficial for England for him

to play? At the moment, I think it

is full-back. He has great vision, a

good kicking game and he is a

finisher. For me, if Kevin Brown

plays well in the second half, does

Lomax go on the bench? That is why I

wanted to play every game, Lomax was

nailed on, maybe he is not now.

Talking about Brown and Gale, good

communicators and organisers, they

are organising Gareth Widdop to be

in the right position. A lot of

responsibility has been taken off

the half-backs for England because

of how well the forwards play, they

can play with the ball. The second

try typified the big men playing

with big men through the middle.

James Roby being direct, running,

Gale direct. Widdop hands. It

creates doubt in defences. France

were scrambling. This is exciting

for me about England, Gale

reorganises, Kevin Brown shifts,

James Graham gets the ball, Kevin

Brown is in position, Loughlin to

Percival to McGillvary, that is

fantastic structural play.

We see Australia do that and wax

lyrical. We have scrapping us about