Smith: Work to do
It's given us plenty to work on. We are going to have a busy week. We're pretty rusty in some areas but to still find a way to come up with a victory is a great attribute to have.
Tony Smith
Quotes of the week
England coach Tony Smith expected to have a "busy week" after seeing his side battle to a hard-fought victory over Papua New Guinea.
The former Leeds and Huddersfield boss saw his side trail 16-12 at half time before running out 32-22 winners in their opening game at the World Cup.
Debutant Lee Smith grabbed a hat-trick, while fellow winger Ade Gardner got a brace of tries to help England avoid an embarrassing loss in Townsville.
Inspired by the evergreen Stanley Gene, the Kumuls provided a scare before running out of steam at the at the Dairy Farmers Stadium.
"I'm glad we had a game," said Smith, who has yet to taste defeat at international level. "We found out a whole lot about ourselves, which is good.
"It's given us plenty to work on. We are going to have a busy week. We're pretty rusty in some areas but to still find a way to come up with a victory is a great attribute to have.
"A lot of teams would fall in a hole in those situations. Tonight did us a whole lot of good."
Smith was quick to praise Papua New Guinea, who threatened an upset thanks to first-half scores from Rod Griffin, Jason Chan and George Kepa.
They managed to cross for a fourth time in the second 40 minutes, though by the time Paul Aiton got on the end of Keith Peters' grubber kick England were well in command.
To make matters worse for the Kumuls, who boast rugby league as their national sport, they lost centre Jessie Joe Parker to a nasty-looking eye injury.
"With a team like New Guinea, if you give them the ball, they hurt you," said Smith.
"That's the way they play. They are passionate about rugby league and love to play with the ball in their hand.
"They scrambled well and their structure was a whole lot better than we had seen so there was a little bit of a surprise factor there."
On the impressive Gene, who he used to coach at Huddersfield, Smith added: "Stanley is full of enthusiasm and always does well for his team. They should be very proud of him."
England next face the Kangaroos next Sunday in Melbourne, before going on to Newcastle to play New Zealand in their final pool match on November 8.

Maguire believes he has strong squad
England 16-46 Australia - Highlights
England 16-46 Australia - Smith
England 16-46 Australia - Lockyer, Thurston and Burgess
England 16-46 Australia - Sheens
Smith preparing for success
England 20-12 New Zealand - Highlights
England 20-12 New Zealand - Players
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Engage Super League | |
| Friday 29th January | |
| 20:00 | Crusaders vs Leeds |
| Saturday 30th January | |
| 15:00 | Harlequins RL vs Wakefield |
| Friday 5th February | |
| 20:00 | Leeds vs Castleford |
| 20:00 | Wigan vs Crusaders |
| 20:00 | Huddersfield vs Bradford |
| Saturday 6th February | |
| 18:00 | St Helens vs Hull |
| Sunday 7th February | |
| 15:00 | Warrington vs Harlequins RL |
| 15:00 | Hull K R vs Salford |
| 15:30 | Wakefield vs Catalans Dragons |
| Friday 12th February | |
| 20:00 | Salford vs Crusaders |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Engage Super League | |
| Saturday 10th October | |
| Leeds 18 - 10 St Helens | |
| Saturday 3rd October | |
| St Helens 14 - 10 Wigan | |
| Friday 2nd October | |
| Leeds 27 - 20 Catalans Dragons | |
| Saturday 26th September | |
| Hull K R 16 - 30 Wigan | |
| Friday 25th September | |
| Huddersfield 6 - 16 Catalans Dragons | |
| Sunday 20th September | |
| Wigan 18 - 12 Castleford | |
| Saturday 19th September | |
| St Helens 15 - 2 Huddersfield | |
| Wakefield 16 - 25 Catalans Dragons | |
| Friday 18th September | |
| Leeds 44 - 8 Hull K R | |
| Sunday 13th September | |
| Castleford 35 - 22 Celtic Crusaders | |
Paul Sculthorpe and Brian Carney told skysports.com that development is the key for league success.
Sky Sports and engage Super League have confirmed the first live matches for Super League XV...
England defence coach Mike Ford is reported to be in the frame for the England rugby league head coach's job.
Huddersfield Giants have signed former Gateshead player Jamie Cording, initially on a part-time contract.
Canterbury Bulldogs goalkicker Daniel Holdsworth has agreed to join Salford City Reds for their 2010 engage Super League campaign.
New Zealand-born prop James Stosic has been warned by Wakefield to obtain a Macedonian passport by the end of the month or be released.
Bradford have declined to comment on a report that another player is seeking to block the club's signing of Matt Orford.