England 29-10 Lebanon: Wayne Bennett's side down Cedars
By Ben Proe
Last Updated: 04/11/17 2:04pm
England go second in Group A after a comfortable 29-10 defeat of Lebanon - but Jermaine McGillvary could be in trouble, after an alleged biting incident on Robbie Farah was put on report by referee Ben Thaler.
Trailing 6-0 to an early Kallum Watkins effort, the Cedars levelled on 17 through loose-forward Nick Kassis - after Gareth Widdop had spilled a tricky Farah kick.
However, Wayne Bennett's men took control of an ill-tempered clash with a trio of tries inside seven minutes. McGillvary finished a Watkins break to make it two tries in as many matches, before some Lebanese holding down set the platform for Ryan Hall to go over - the grounding eventually deemed legitimate by video ref Phil Bentham.
Within four minutes, a Jason Wehbe knock-on was punished by Ben Currie's first international touchdown - and England could have added to their 22-6 half-time lead, as Elliot Whitehead and Watkins went close.
Inside 60 seconds of the restart, a clash between McGillvary and Farah was put on report by Thaler following an allegation of biting from the Lebanese skipper - before England extended their advantage with 25 to go through Tom Burgess, off a sensational James Graham short pass.
Brad Fittler's side did hit double figures with five minutes left, courtesy of a debut Wehbe four-pointer - before McGillvary was denied a second, as a Watkins assist was ruled to have gone forward.
Gareth Widdop added a final point with the last kick of the game - and England now head for Perth to face France next Sunday knowing victory will secure a quarter-final spot.
