England coach Brian McDermott has questioned the Rugby League World Cup format after his side suffered a historic opening defeat to Tonga, leaving their hopes of progressing to the semi-finals at risk after only one game.
The tournament's preparation was chaotic from the outset, with the World Cup originally scheduled to be held in France in 2025 before being postponed and eventually handed to Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea to co-host.
The late change also forced a significant overhaul of the competition format, with the tournament reduced from 16 teams to 10 in a bid to ensure a more competitive event.
However, the revised structure has created a challenging path for England, who have little margin for error after losing their opening match against Tonga.
The competition is divided into Group A and an intergroup format featuring Groups B and C, with England placed in Group B alongside Lebanon and Samoa.
Despite sharing the group with both nations, England will not face either side during the pool stage, instead taking on the three teams from Group C, Tonga, PNG and France.
Only two teams from the combined six-team Groups B and C will progress to the finals, while the top two sides from Group A will also qualify. Group A contains just four teams.
The format meant England's clash against Tonga carried enormous significance before the tournament had even properly begun for McDermott's side, who had only just arrived from the United Kingdom, with many meeting one another for the first time.
Tonga, by contrast, entered the contest boasting a greater number of NRL-based players, before going on to secure their first-ever victory over England.
McDermott has since questioned the harsh consequences of losing a single match in the revised format, believing his side have been left with little room to recover from their opening setback.
“The jeopardy of losing one game in a pool of three is so harsh, it's almost like we don't get another chance to straighten things out,” McDermott told the media ahead of their clash against France.
“There's still a slim chance that we get through, and that's something we're focusing on, we remain determined.
“The jeopardy is really harsh and we knew for us to go through that we had to go and beat Tonga.
“It's just harsh that we have to take a standing eight count in that first round, but we're ready to go again.
“Credit to Australia for taking on the World Cup. When the French rugby league federation said they couldn't host the World Cup and Australia stepped up at the last minute, it had to be a ten-team competition.
“Whether it was going to be a 12 or 16-team competition originally, I'm not sure, but the teams were reduced to one pool of four and two pools of three.
“New Zealand have lost their first game as well (in Pool A against Australia), but they're going to get another go at it.
“The likelihood is that they'll quality, their destiny is not lying in other people's hands (like ours is).”
England now face a difficult task to keep their World Cup campaign alive, needing to win their remaining two matches while also relying on results elsewhere to fall their way.
In particular, Samoa must defeat Tonga next week to give England a greater chance of progressing, with points differential then proving decisive in determining which sides advance.
The situation highlights the contrasting paths created by the tournament's format, with New Zealand able to recover from their opening loss to Australia in Group A while England's defeat has left their fate dependent on other results.
Despite his criticism of the structure, McDermott insisted England's predicament was not the result of a broader failure, instead acknowledging the importance of starting the tournament strongly.
“Nothing has gone wrong, it's just a harsh competition in which you've got to hit the ground running, which we didn't do,” McDermott said.
England must now respond immediately if they are to avoid an early exit, with every remaining match carrying enormous consequences.
Should they scrape through to the semi-finals, they are also likely to face a formidable challenge against Australia, who are expected to finish atop Group A.
For McDermott and England, the margin for error has all but disappeared, with their World Cup hopes now resting on both their own performances and the results of their rivals.
