Sam Tomkins scored four first-half tries as England ran out comfortable winners against France in coach Steve McNamara's first game in charge.
It was a second international hat-trick for Tomkins, and equalled the England try-scoring record for a single match.
The Wigan half-back and debutant Gareth Widdop, who scored England's opener, were key figures early on at Leigh.
Gareth Ellis and Michael Shenton each crossed twice, while Tom Briscoe and Chris Bridge also grabbed tries.
Australia-based Widdop, who was born in Halifax but emigrated with his family five years ago, marked his England debut with a try after only two minutes.
France dropped the ball and England broke down field and a neat inside pass from Chris Bridge found the Melbourne Storm man who touched down.
Widdop, who is understudy to Australian international Billy Slater at Melbourne, was one of three overseas-based players in the England squad and he was also involved in their next two tries.
On 14 minutes, Frenchman Nicolas Piquemal failed to cope with a high ball and from an England scrum 20 metres out, the ball was played across the line via Widdop to Hull FC's Briscoe who went over.
Kevin Sinfield, who had also converted Widdop's earlier try, made it two out of two.
Two minutes later, Widdop's neat footwork opened the gap and with Bridge and Sam Tomkins in support, the Wigan player crossed.
No comments:
Post a Comment