England beat France to all but reach quarters

England all but secured their place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup with a comfortable 42-18 victory over France in Bolton.

They will aim to complete a flawless passage to the knockout stages when they face debutants Greece in their final group game in Sheffield next Saturday.

Winger Ryan Hall extended his try-scoring record for England with two in the opening 11 minutes, finishing off swift team moves into the corner, and Luke Thompson added a third try.

After their poor start, France hit back. Arthur Mourgue reacted quickest to a ricochet from his own grubber kick and Eloi Pelissier burrowed over from close range for an 18-12 half-time deficit.

But Elliott Whitehead and Victor Radley crossed early in the second half and winger Dominic Young added two more, including a superb length-of-the-field try.

Arthur Romano scored a consolation for France late on.

England showcase second half surge

The two sides were meeting for the 32nd time but England pressed home their dominance by claiming their 21st consecutive victory against France, last losing this fixture in February 1981.

The French, who host the next World Cup in 2025, defeated Greece in their first game and were only a converted try behind at the break but England – as expected – ran away with the contest in the second period.

It started perfectly with Hall scoring twice in the opening 11 minutes, converting through passes from Marc Sneyd, winning his first Test cap, and Herbie Farnworth for similar tries in the left-hand corner.

It extended Hall’s record try-scoring tally to 37 for England and the Hull KR man is now the third joint highest scoring player of all time on the international stage, alongside Australian great Darren Lockyer.

Forward Thompson then went in unchallenged between the sticks after a line break from the brilliant Radley created the opportunity.

France responded by punishing England’s sloppiness with Catalans Dragons stand-off Mourgue and Toulouse hooker Pelissier both touching down to stun the home support into silence.

But any fears of a huge upset were allayed early in the second period when Whitehead converted his second try of the tournament from John Bateman’s offload and Radley claimed his first England try by latching on to Andy Ackers’ kick through.

Newcastle Knights winger Young took his tally to four in the competition, his second of the game a sensational burst from range following an interception deep inside his own half.

Only an extraordinary set of circumstances will now stop England from reaching the last eight.

Samoa will be aiming for their first victory against Greece on Sunday, before completing the group against France next Sunday.