Marc Bazeley
England 64-0 France: Ash Handley and George Williams star as men trounce France in international double-header
Ash Handley ran in three tries on his England Test debut, with new captain George Williams grabbing a hat-trick as well as the hosts secured a dominant victory in the mid-season international against France at Warrington's Halliwell Jones Stadium
Last Updated: 30/04/23 7:23am
Ash Handley's hat-trick on his Test debut and a further three tries from George Williams helped England's men to a resounding 64-0 victory over France in the mid-season international at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
Two converted tries from Handley, plus one apiece from fellow Test debutants Harry Smith, Ethan Havard and Jake Wardle, and another from recently-appointed skipper Williams helped England into a 36-0 lead at half-time.
Winger Handley and Williams both went on to make it three tries each after the break, with Kai Pearce-Paul and Danny Walker crossing as well to mirror the result of England's women against the French earlier in the day.
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Smith's nine conversions ensured he ended with a haul of 22 points too as Shaun Wane's side began the long build-up to the 2025 Rugby League World Cup with a convincing win against the team they beat 42-18 in the group stage of last year's global gathering.
Story of the game
Head coach Wane named a matchday 17 which contained just four men previously capped by England at Test level, with injury withdrawals and the unavailability of the NRL-based players seeing some of the up-and-coming players given an opportunity to impress.
It did not take long for one of those to make an impact as Leeds Rhinos' Handley chased down a chip to the right from skipper Williams to finish for a try which was converted by fellow debutant Smith with barely four minutes on the clock.
France responded well to that early setback and a deft 40-20 kick from Cesar Rouge allowed them to apply some pressure on England's line, albeit without being able to break down the home side's defence.
But the home side were in again midway through the half as three Wigan Warriors players combined. Pearce-Paul sent Wardle - just minutes after he had crashed through an advertising board at one end of the ground - racing clear before the centre passed back inside for Smith to finish.
That was followed just three minutes later by another Wigan player in Havard powering over as the Bulgaria-born prop took a pass from clubmate Morgan Smithies to burst through and finish for another converted score.
Wardle then went from provided to scorer in the 32nd minute, taking a pass from Jack Welsby and finishing wide on the left for his first Test try and second in an England shirt after scoring in the non-cap win over the Combined Nations last year.
Warrington Wolves man Williams then finished off a scintillating move for a try on his home ground as Handley returned the favour from earlier in the match by providing the assist, followed by the captain coming up with a cut-out pass to send the wide man over for his second on the stroke of half-time.
Williams and Handley continued to torment the French down England's right edge after the break, with the former starting and finishing a move for his second try of the match and then providing the kick for the latter to grab and complete his hat-trick.
It was Williams who then dummied and provided the pass which sent Newcastle Knights-bound Pearce-Paul racing away to finish in the 64th minute, followed by completing his treble haul just two minutes later as England opened up the French defence again.
There was still time for another Warrington man in starting hooker Walker to grab a try on his home turf as well, with Williams capping a player-of-the-match performance by kicking the conversion as the final hooter sounded.
What they said
England head coach Shaun Wane
"At half-time we had to improve on a few things and I wasn't seeing England play France, I was seeing England play Samoa and there was some detail they needed to get better at.
"That detail I saw in the second half which I was really happy about.
"Overall, 13 debuts, it is a very, very proud day seeing these young kids. I have been genuinely excited for this game and it lived up to it."
Player of the match and England captain George Williams
"We had some young kids in today and they did a great job and it has been a really enjoyable week.
"I really enjoyed myself out there. I think our young forwards laid the platform for me, Harry [Smith] and Jack [Welsby] to play our stuff out the back.
"The best thing is the zero, France didn't score a point. That is England standards and Waney will be very happy with a zero.
What's next?
England are back in action this autumn when they host Tonga in an historic three-Test series against the Pacific Island nation. That kicks off in St Helens on Sunday, October 22. France now prepare for the 2023 European Championship, where they are in Group B and face Italy in their opening match on Saturday October 21.
