- Published
As Mikey Lewis darted over for a late try in a desperate - and almost certainly fruitless - points chase against Papua New Guinea, the obituaries were already being written for England's Men's Rugby League World Cup campaign.
asserted
obituaries → publish → campaign
Much earlier on Friday, England's women had lacked the power and nous to overcome Samoa, losing 24-6 in a match that decided who went through to the semi-finals.
asserted
who → lack → finals
England's men actually won their game - 34-12 - but it was nowhere near the margin of victory required.
asserted
it → win → victory
Their elimination will be confirmed on Sunday unless Tonga beat Samoa by more than 46 points.
And so the likelihood is that for the first time in World Cup history, neither England's men nor their women will feature in the last four.
asserted
men → confirm → four
For the men, that ends a run that began with Great Britain at the first tournament in 1954.
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that → end → 1954
The disappointment will only reinforce the idea that English rugby league needs a serious period of introspection - as well as significant investment to keep pace with the game in the southern hemisphere.
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league → reinforce → hemisphere
But there have been other factors to trouble England at this World Cup, hosted by Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea at short notice after France pulled out for financial reasons.
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France → trouble → reasons
Even before a ball was kicked, the men were faced with a sense of impending doom - brought on by injuries, shambolic travel arrangements and a bizarre format that had England facing immediate jeopardy with a testing opener against Tonga.
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England → kick → Tonga
The northern hemisphere game has deep-rooted problems, and seems to be stuck in stasis when compared with the thriving NRL.
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game → have → NRL
England had a record of being a major player at World Cups - having reached two finals and a further four semi-finals at the past six tournaments.
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England → have → tournaments
But when last autumn's 3-0 Ashes series defeat by Australia prompted the departure of head coach Shaun Wane, his successor was handed a near-impossible task.
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successor → prompt → task
Brian McDermott was appointed in April.
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McDermott → appoint → April
Given just six months to prepare, the former Leeds Rhinos head coach had no mid-season international to work on a plan.
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coach → give → plan
Based in Australia because of his role as Gold Coast Titans assistant coach, he relied on virtual meetings to connect with his prospective squad and staff.
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he → base → squad
Four on-field sessions were planned in Australia before the World Cup.
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sessions → plan → Cup
But only two were completed in full after his UK-based players were subjected to a 48-hour journey to Perth that left them exhausted - a situation McDermott compared to Planes, Trains and Automobiles, the 1987 road-trip comedy starring Steve Martin and John Candy.
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McDermott → complete → Martin
It was a shambolic way to prepare for a pivotal opener against Tonga - one that always had the potential to consign the defeated team to an early elimination.
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that → prepare → elimination
Following that 30-12 loss, McDermott said: "You give me another two or three weeks preparation or another couple of games of preparation leading into the tournament and I'd be really excited."
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I → follow → tournament
With the tournament organisers planning travel itineraries for the teams involved, any post-World Cup debrief ought to examine how that situation was allowed to occur.
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situation → plan → teams
It would have made more sense for England's opener to be against France - the only other team in the men's tournament made up largely of northern hemisphere-based players.
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opener → make → players
Wakefield Trinity's historic triumph may have delivered a wonderful sign-off story to the Super League season but it delivered another conundrum around England's squad selection.
uncertain
it → deliver → selection
Had McDermott known prior to 5 October that none of the Wakefield players in his thinking would be available, could arrangements have been made for his UK-based players to travel to Australia earlier?
uncertain
players → know → Australia
In the end, only three of the 14 England-based players in the squad (George Williams, Matty Ashton and Ben Currie) participated in the Super League Grand Final on 3 October.
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three → base → October
"If we come together next year as a group, we will be further down the track and we don't need to start from scratch," McDermott added.
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McDermott → come → scratch
"Bear in mind when we landed in Perth on the Friday [9 October], we are starting... like we didn't know each other.
"
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we → bear → other
We were putting things in place about who we are as a group, what it means to us, how we are going to play, how we are going to attack and how we are going to defend.
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we → put → us
Injury woes and playing catch up
While much of the pre-tournament noise centred on the omission of Jake Connor and England's long-running halves debate, very little focus was given to a decimated forward pack and other notable absentees.
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focus → centre → pack
Prior the first match, McDermott recounted Australia prop Tino Fa'asuamaleaui's admiration for the strength of the English pack during last year's Ashes series.
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McDermott → recount → series
England's ability to front up had also previously been talked up by Kangaroos boss Kevin Walters.
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ability → talk → Walters
Yet McDermott had few of those same players at his disposal.
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McDermott → have → disposal
Matty Lees' season-ending injury in May was not only a blow for St Helens but also robbed England of a key enforcer, one who had previously shown he could stand up to the physicality of a powerhouse Tonga front row.
uncertain
he → end → row
With second-rower Mike McMeeken and prop Caleb Hamlin-Uele unavailable, Morgan Smithies withdrawing from the squad injured and a calf complaint taking Morgan Knowles out of the equation for the encounter against Tonga, England were left short in that area.
asserted
England → withdraw → area
That is before you even get to options such as Sydney Roosters' Billy Smith, Wigan's Jake Wardle and Leeds Rhinos duo Ash Handley and Mikolaj Oledzki, all absent through injury.
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all → get → injury
And when England had to chase the scoreboard after their defeat by Tonga - while hoping results elsewhere went in their favour - it left them in trouble.
asserted
it → have → trouble
They failed to get the numbers on the board they needed against Papua New Guinea.
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they → fail → Guinea
McDermott acknowledged that it left him and his players waiting for the inevitable.
asserted
it → acknowledge → inevitable
"It feels like we lost the game," he said.
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he → feel → game
"We won and, in any circumstances I would be really proud but I think something remarkable is going to have to happen now for us to go through.
asserted
us → win → circumstances
"We've made massive strides together in such a short period of time, in difficult circumstances where the narrative of the last two weeks is that you've got to win by 70 and 60.
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you → make → 70
You don't just need to win, you need to win by massive margins."
asserted
you → need → margins
…and 21 more, not listed.
The Aporia
