Jez Litten and Morgan Knowles in, Brad O’Neill out for England v PNG

   27/10/2026

JEZ LITTEN will start for England against Papua New Guinea on Friday while Morgan Knowles is to make his first appearance of the World Cup.

After making a strong impact off the bench in the 82-0 victory over France, hooker Litten has been promoted in Brian McDermott’s team.

Brad O’Neill, who started the opening two games of the tournament, has been dropped from the side altogether.

Knowles will start at loose-forward after missing both the defeat to Tonga and the France game due to a calf injury, with Victor Radley a substitute.

Coach McDermott has resisted the temptation to bring Mikey Lewis into the starting line-up, sticking with the halfback combination of George Williams and Harry Smith.

Lewis and Jack Welsby are again both options on the six-man bench.

England need victory by a handsome margin in Wollongong as they seek to put the pressure on Samoa in pursuit of a semi-final spot.

They would then have to hope for a Samoan defeat at the hands of Tonga on Sunday, with a points difference swing of at least 68 achieved in the process.

Papua New Guinea, having also won one and lost one so far in the World Cup, have a mathematical chance at progression too, but likewise require a huge swing over Tonga.

That means it’s likely to be the final match of Rhyse Martin’s career, with the Kumuls captain retiring after the World Cup.

Nene Macdonald has been recalled to their side , alongside fellow centre Josh Feledy and prop Luca Moretti, while Jack De Belin is ruled out with a rib injury so Liam Horne will start at loose-forward.

England: 1 AJ Brimson, 2 Dom Young, 3 Hugo Savala, 4 Herbie Farnworth, 5 Matty Ashton, 6 George Williams, 7 Harry Smith, 8 Max King, 9 Jez Litten, 10 Luke Thompson, 11 Junior Nsemba, 12 Kai Pearce-Paul, 13 Morgan Knowles. Subs: 14 Mikey Lewis, 15 Sam Walters, 16 Ethan Havard, 17 Victor Radley, 18 Ben Currie 19 Jack Welsby. Reserves: 20 Brad O’Neill, 21 Zach Eckersley, 22 Kallum Watkins.

Papua New Guinea: 1 Zac Laybutt, 2 Robert Derby, 3 Josh Feledy, 4 Nene Macdonald, 5 Dudley Dotoi, 6 Gairo Voro, 7 Bailey Biondi-Odo, 8 Epel Kapinias, 9 Edwin Ipape, 10 Luca Moretti, 11 Rhyse Martin, 12 Nixon Putt, 13 Liam Horne. Subs: 14 Finley Glare, 15 Jacob Taulani, 16 Robert Mathias, 17 Sanny Wabo, 18 Valentine Richard, 19 Zev John. Reserves: 20 Morea Morea, 21 Rodrick Tai, 22 Alex Max.