McDermott says England must ‘meet fire with fire’ in World Cup opener

ENGLAND head coach Brian McDermott has vowed to “meet fire with fire” when his side get their Rugby League World Cup campaign underway against Tonga in Perth on Saturday.

McDermott has made a number of bold calls in his first team selection ahead of a game that is widely presumed to be a must-win if they are to harbour realistic hope of reaching the semi-finals.

England are well-prepared for Tonga’s muscular threat having got the better of a three-Test series in England in 2023, but McDermott believes the key to success resides in a blend of brains and brawn.

McDermott said: “There’s only a few ways you can play international rugby league and there’s a few ways you can get it wrong as well.

“We’ve got to take Tonga on, we’ve got to meet fire with fire in that regard, but there’s a version of doing it where you don’t just stay doing that for 80 minutes.

“They are physically going to be a challenge for us and we’ve got to remain clever and smart while dealing with their physicality.

“I think to go deep in the tournament we have to do something special. There needs to be some moments where we come through a level of adversity, levels of fatigue, and levels of turning them away from our try-line.”

McDermott has preferred Gold Coast Titans star AJ Brimson over St Helens’ Jack Welsby at full-back, while Wigan’s Harry Smith will partner captain George Williams in the halves.

NRL Premiership winner Victor Radley returns to the England side for the first time since 2024 while Wigan’s Zach Eckersley has been preferred to Matty Ashton on the wing, and his club-mate Sam Walters is also named in the starting line-up.

Following their match against Tonga, England face France in Perth on October 24, then Papua New Guinea in Wollongong on October 30 to round off their group stage games.