Rugby League World Cup: England rout Greece with 17 tries as Dom Young helps secure Group A top spot
Dom Young ran in four first-half tries for England as they made it three wins from three in Group A of the Rugby League World Cup; Marc Sneyd broke the record for most points by an England player in one game with 30 too as the hosts ran in 17 tries
By Marc Bazeley at Bramall Lane
Last Updated: 29/10/22 5:39pm
Dom Young ran in four tries as England secured top spot in Rugby League World Cup Group A with a resounding 94-4 victory over Greece at Bramall Lane.
The host nation was already out of sight at half-time as they led 44-4, with star winger Young proving the chief architect of the World Cup debutants' demise with his first-half haul.
Matty Lees, Ryan Hall, Tom Burgess and George Williams all crossed in the first 40 minutes too, although Greece did have something to cheer when a concerted spell of pressure yielded a try from Siteni Taukamo.
- England 94-4 Greece: As it happened
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There was no let-up from England after the break as Hall and Burgess both went over again, and Andy Ackers added two, along with Tommy Makinson, Marc Sneyd, debutants Joe Batchelor and Kai Pearce-Paul, and Mike McMeeken all going over to complete a 17-try rout.
Story of the game
England had already secured their passage to the quarter-finals but were still aiming to make it three wins from three in the group and finish top of the standings. By contrast, Greece had lost their first two matches against France and Samoa and came into the game having already conceded 106 points.
It was a match which saw England record their biggest-ever World Cup win, eclipsing the 76-4 win over Russia in the group stages in 2000, equal their mark of 17 tries against the same opponent in an international in 2004, and Young become the 10th player to score four tries in a game for the team. Sneyd set the record for most points by an England player in one World Cup game with 30, too.
The signs were ominous for first-time qualifiers Greece early on as England forced a goal-line drop-out, and Shaun Wane's side took full advantage of that pressure when Marc Sneyd drew in the defence and then sent prop Lees through a gap to finish for the first try.
Team news
George Williams captained the England side with Sam Tomkins rested, with Tommy Makinson moving to full-back. Kai Pearce-Paul made his first start of the tournament at centre in place of the injured Kallum Watkins, while Joe Batchelor got a start as well in the second row.
Greece welcomed back captain Jordan Meads for their final match of the tournament but were without former Warrington Wolves forward Billy Magoulias who had flown home for the birth of his first child. Ioannis Rousoglou, Ioannis Nake and Konstantinos Katsidonis all made their World Cup debuts.
Good work from Jack Welsby led to Young getting up and running with his fifth try of the World Cup 10 minutes later, with the centre tracking across the field to find John Bateman, who in turn passed out to the winger to finish from close range.
Greece were proving game opponents though and deservedly got on the board themselves on the back of a set restart and a repeat set of six tackles after Lachlan Ilias' kick was charged down, with Jordan Meads sending full-back Taukamo racing through a gap for an unconverted try.
It all unravelled for the Greeks after that though and back-to-back tries put England in the ascendancy. First, captain Williams found Young to finish wide on the right, then opposite winger Hall chased down Sneyd's deft kick into space on the right and smashed through the defence to score.
Prop Burgess crashed through the defence in the 33rd minute for his first try and barely a minute later Young had completed his hat-trick after using his strength to get the ball down with two defenders around him after taking a pass from Pearce-Paul.
England 94-4 Greece score summary
England: Tries – Dom Young (4), Ryan Hall (2), Tom Burgess (2), Andy Ackers, Matty Lees, George Williams, Tommy Makinson, Marc Sneyd, Joe Batchelor, Kai Pearce-Paul, Mike McMeeken. Goals: Marc Sneyd (13).
Greece: Try – Siteni Taukamo.
Pearce-Paul and Young combined again two minutes before half-time for the Newcastle Knights man to streak clear and grab his fourth of the afternoon, and there was still time for Williams to run in a scintillating solo try just before the hooter sounded.
There was no let-up from England after the break and within two minutes of the restart they had reached the half-century mark as stand-in full-back Makinson capitalised on some panic in the defence from a kick.
Sneyd slotted the conversion and would finish the match with 13 successful goal kicks, trailing only Wayne Godwin, with 15 against Russia in 2004, for the most in one match for England. The Salford Red Devils half-back got in on the try-scoring act too with a fine piece of support play following breaks from Williams and Bateman.
It was now a case of how many England would win by, and Burgess and Hall made it two tries apiece followed by St Helens second row Batchelor capping his first outing of the tournament with a score.
Hooker Ackers grabbed two second-half tries as well, with Pearce-Paul celebrating his first outing at the World Cup with a try late on and forward McMeeken completing the rout just before the final hooter sounded.
What's next?
England head to Wigan's DW Stadium for their quarter-final match next Saturday, where their opponents are likely to be Papua New Guinea in a repeat of the 2017 last-eight clash. The Kumuls face Wales in their final Group D match on Sunday.