MELBOURNE: England lined up a Rugby League World Cup semi-final showdown with Tonga after a scrappy 36-6 victory over Papua New Guinea in Melbourne on Sunday. Wayne Bennett’s England scored seven tries but only managed to complete 25 of 45 sets in the face of some feisty defending from the smaller Kumuls. Winger Jermaine McGillvary and centre Kallum Watkins grabbed try doubles as England carried on from a 14-0 half-time lead to reach the last four. England will face a sterner test against the unbeaten Tongans in Auckland next Saturday, with 10-time winners Australia up against a rejuvenated Fiji in Brisbane in the other semi-final on Friday. The Melbourne match could hardly have got off to a worse start for the Kumuls. Their star Brisbane Broncos fullback David Mead was knocked out in the opening set while trying to tackle scrum-half Luke Gale and was forced out of the game. McGillvary scored his tries six minutes apart to give England an early 8-0 lead. The athletic winger has now scored nine tries in his last eight Tests. England extended their advantage to 20-0 in the 56th minute, with Ben Currie running on to a neat grubber from fullback Gareth Widdop. PNG winger Garry Lo scored his team’s only try in the corner, before Watkins and winger Ryan Hall added further tries for England to blow out the score. Tonga fended off a desperate finish by willing part-timers Lebanon to claim a thrilling 24-22 victory in their quarter-final in Christchurch on Saturday. Tonga led 22-16 at half-time and the telling two-point difference at the end was registered early in the second half when Ata Hingano landed a pressure penalty goal. Fiji pulled off the shock of the tournament with a 4-2 upset victory over New Zealand in a tryless quarter-final in Wellington on Saturday. Winger Valentine Holmes scored a record-breaking five tries as the Kangaroos crushed Samoa 46-0 to reach the last four in Darwin on Friday.
