# McDermott stands by his men: England unchanged for must-win France clash Source: SportsBriefly (https://sportsbriefly.com) Canonical URL: https://sportsbriefly.com/en/rugby/mcdermott-stands-by-his-men-england-unchanged-for-must-win-france-clash-2026-10 Language: en Published: 2026-10-20T15:10:59.911+00:00 Updated: 2026-10-20T15:11:00.020509+00:00 > Three days after the 30-12 humbling by Tonga, Brian McDermott has named the same 19-man squad for Saturday's Rugby League World Cup showdown with France in Perth. Kallum Watkins is the only change to the wider group, replacing the injured Morgan Knowles. ## TL;DR - Three days after the 30-12 humbling by Tonga, Brian McDermott has named the same 19-man squad for Saturday's Rugby League World Cup showdown with France in Perth. Kallum Watkins is the only change to the wider group, replacing the injured Morgan Knowles. - Brian McDermott named an unchanged 19-man England squad for Saturday's must-win Rugby League World Cup clash against France in Perth (07:35 BST). - Kallum Watkins is the only change to the wider 22-man group, replacing the injured Morgan Knowles; Mikey Lewis again misses the matchday 19. ## Key points - Brian McDermott named an unchanged 19-man England squad for Saturday's must-win Rugby League World Cup clash against France in Perth (07:35 BST). - Kallum Watkins is the only change to the wider 22-man group, replacing the injured Morgan Knowles; Mikey Lewis again misses the matchday 19. - AJ Brimson keeps the full-back role, Jack Welsby is an interchange again, and only four of the six named bench players may enter the field. - France reshuffled after their own opening defeat: Thomas Lacans starts at five-eighth, Cesar Rouge drops to the bench, and captain Ben Garcia moves from hooker to lock. - England must beat France and then Papua New Guinea on October 30, and hope other results go their way, to avoid missing the semi-finals for the first time. - Brad O'Neill says the camp refuses to chase points difference: England must be 'hard-nosed' and get the win first. ## TL;DR ![File photo: England head coach Brian McDermott on the touchline during his Featherstone Rovers tenure (2022), not in Perth.](https://dcwdppdscydjemfvownz.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/media/api/1792509053312-d724ty-rugby-inside1-2026-10-20-evening.jpg) - England boss Brian McDermott named an unchanged 19-man squad for Saturday's Rugby League World Cup clash against France in Perth (07:35 BST). - Leeds Rhinos veteran Kallum Watkins is the only change to the wider 22-man group, replacing the injured Morgan Knowles. - AJ Brimson keeps the full-back spot, Jack Welsby is on the interchange again, and Mikey Lewis again misses the matchday 19. - France reshuffled after their own opening defeat: Thomas Lacans starts at five-eighth and skipper Ben Garcia moves from hooker to lock. - England must beat France and Papua New Guinea — and hope other results go their way — to reach the semi-finals. ## McDermott keeps faith after Tonga humiliation ![File photo: Thomas Lacans in Toulouse Olympique colours; the playmaker starts at five-eighth for France on Saturday.](https://dcwdppdscydjemfvownz.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/media/api/1792509056380-gyp4e7-rugby-inside2-2026-10-20-evening.jpg) England's World Cup campaign is in the balance after three days, and Brian McDermott's answer is not a reshuffle but a show of trust. The head coach has named the same 19 players who started the 30-12 defeat to Tonga for Saturday's must-win return to Perth against France. It is a bold call. The performance against Tonga was flat in contact and ragged in defence, overwhelmed by a side whose NRL-loaded pack asked questions England could not answer. But McDermott has chosen backing over blame: this tournament will be won or lost by these players, and he still believes they are the right ones. George Williams captains the side once more, with AJ Brimson retaining the full-back role and Jack Welsby again among the six interchange players. Only four of the six named bench players may enter the field — against Tonga, Welsby and Matty Ashton were the two left unused, with Wigan's Zach Eckersley preferred. ## The only change: Watkins in for Knowles The single alteration to the wider 22-man squad is enforced, not tactical. Dolphins forward Morgan Knowles, who withdrew late before the Tonga game, has not recovered, and his place goes to Leeds Rhinos centre Kallum Watkins — chasing a cap at his fourth World Cup, with cover across the centres and back row McDermott may find reassuring in a tight finish. Luke Thompson starts at prop in Knowles' absence, as he did against Tonga, with Max King alongside him and Brad O'Neill at hooker. Victor Radley anchors the pack at loose forward, with Junior Nsemba and Kai Pearce-Paul in the second row. ## Lewis misses out again The most eye-catching non-selection is once more Mikey Lewis. The Hull KR half-back again fails to make the matchday 19 and is listed among the reserves alongside Watkins and Ben Talty. Harry Smith and Williams keep the halves partnership, with Herbie Farnworth and Hugo Savala at centre and Dom Young and Eckersley on the wings. Welsby's situation is becoming a subplot of England's campaign. The St Helens star spent the Tonga defeat watching from the bench; McDermott has named him as an interchange again — the option is open, but it is an expensive luxury to keep on the sidelines in a must-win game. ## France shuffle their halves France are also coming off an opening-weekend defeat and have responded the opposite way: with surgery. Toulouse playmaker Thomas Lacans has been promoted to start at five-eighth, with Cesar Rouge demoted to the bench, while Romeo Tropis comes in at centre, pushing Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet out to the wing and Leo Darrelatour out of the side entirely. Skipper Ben Garcia moves from hooker to lock, with Amir Bourouh promoted to start at number nine, and Julian Bousquet comes into the front row at prop for Lambert Belmas, who drops to the bench. It is a bold rebuild of the spine — and it tells you where the French camp thinks its first-up defeat was lost. ## The maths: no margin for error The equation, as relayed by Reuters, is brutally simple: England must win their last two group matches and hope other results go their way to avoid missing the semi-finals for the first time. After France comes Papua New Guinea in Wollongong on October 30, but Saturday is the pressure cooker — lose, and the arithmetic becomes fantasy. Points difference may yet matter, with bookmakers installing Samoa as roughly 30-point favourites against PNG this weekend. That piles pressure on England not just to win, but to win well — a tension Brad O'Neill addressed head-on when he fronted the media this week. ## O'Neill: "We can't think about points difference" O'Neill was defiant about England's preparation and realistic about what comes next. "France have come off a loss like us, so I feel like they're going to come firing, and I'm expecting a good game on the weekend," he said. On the scoreboard pressure, he was blunt: "I feel like mentally we can't go into this game thinking about the points difference. We've got to go into this game hard-nosed like we were against Tonga, and hopefully if we do our job well enough, then we're going to get the win." He also pushed back at suggestions England were underprepared for Tonga's onslaught — the squad, he insists, was ready; the execution was not. There is no new game plan, no panic buys, no scapegoats. Just the same 19 names, the same coach, and Saturday in Perth to prove the opener was the anomaly, not the template. One more fixture looms over the day: England Women play world champions Australia in Perth immediately after the men's game, with Stuart Barrow reshuffling his side after the 70-6 rout of Wales. But the men's tournament, their credibility, and McDermott's judgement all ride on the first eighty minutes. Mentions: England, France, Brian McDermott, George Williams, AJ Brimson, Jack Welsby, Luke Thompson, Morgan Knowles, Kallum Watkins, Mikey Lewis, Brad O'Neill, Ben Talty, Jez Litten, Ben Currie, Ethan Havard, Sam Walters, Matty Ashton, Dom Young, Hugo Savala, Herbie Farnworth, Zach Eckersley, Harry Smith, Max King, Junior Nsemba, Kai Pearce-Paul, Victor Radley, Thomas Lacans, Cesar Rouge, Romeo Tropis, Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet, Leo Darrelatour, Ben Garcia, Amir Bourouh, Julian Bousquet, Lambert Belmas, Tonga, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Perth, Wollongong, Rugby League World Cup 2026, Leeds Rhinos, Hull KR, St Helens, Toulouse Olympique ## Sources - [rugby-league.com](https://www.rugby-league.com/article/65250/england-men-name-squad-for-rugby-league-world-cup-fixture-against-france) - [skysports.com](https://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/news/13601200/rugby-league-world-cup-mikey-lewis-absent-again-as-england-unchanged-for-clash-vs-france-despite-opening-defeat) - [newsatw.com](https://newsatw.com/england-rugby-league-brian-mcdermott-names-unchanged-team-for-france-despite-tonga-defeat/) - [seriousaboutrl.com](https://www.seriousaboutrl.com/brad-oneill-rugby-league-world-cup-semi-finals-119529/) - [islandsbusiness.com](https://islandsbusiness.com/pacnews/pacnews-sports-20-october-2026/)