BRIAN McDERMOTT said he won’t be distracted by the different permutations England could require after suffering a potentially fatal 30-12 defeat to Tonga in their opening game of the World Cup.
Stefano Utoikamanu found the breakthrough for Kristian Woolf’s side in a tight first half at Perth’s HBF Park, with Isaiya Katoa converting the extras, before adding an additional four points with two penalties.
AJ Brimson pulled a try back for England after the restart, but the Tongan lead was soon re-strengthened, courtesy of tries from Haumole Olakau’atu and Tolutau Koula.
The former of the two bagged a second of the evening heading into the closing stages, as he put a firm end to the faint hope a Dom Young try had provided.
McDermott’s side can’t just rely on victories over France and Papua New Guinea in their own remaining group games to progress to the semi-finals.
With only two of six nations qualifying from Groups B and C, they either need a Samoa or Tonga slip-up next week (they play PNG and Lebanon respectively) or to overhaul the Samoans’ points difference should they lose their final game to Tonga.
Reflecting on the loss, the England head coach said: “It was a really good contest, and when it wasn’t that was probably more to do with us and the errors we made.
“They’re a big team, and have got some tremendous players, but we stood toe-to-toe with them for most of the game.
“Towards the end, we made some errors chasing the scoreboard, which is something we can change.
“I think we opened up Tonga in that first 20, and found ourselves in a good ball position, but had some scrappy finishes or were too erratic. Credit to Tonga too, as I thought they were terrific defensively.
“In terms of breaching their line, we did that two or three times, but they came up with some try-saving tackles, so a lot of credit goes to them.
“The fact we didn’t score the tries doesn’t suggest our game plan needs to change; it just means we need to be more patient.
“We know what’s in front of us now – we need to win the next two games. I’ve seen enough tonight to say we’re heading in the right direction.
“There’s tonnes of positives, and a few glaring things we need to get rid of, but we’re chasing the good stuff. ‘Easy fixes’ isn’t the right phrase, but I don’t think these things are difficult to fix.”
