England 18-4 Combined Nations All Stars: Shaun Wane's men secure three-try win
Tries from debutant Jake Wardle, George Williams and John Bateman secure victory for England at the Halliwell Jones Stadium; Sam Tomkins kicks three conversions, while Ken Sio grabs consolation try for the All Stars
Last Updated: 18/06/22 8:30pm
John Bateman scored a try and set up another as England overcame a spirited Combined Nations All Stars team with an 18-4 win in Warrington on Saturday.
A try from Jake Wardle on his England debut and George Williams' finish following Bateman's break, both of which were converted by Sam Tomkins, had the hosts leading 12-0 at half-time.
Wigan Warriors back row Bateman then managed to force his way over for a third converted score four minutes after the restart and that proved enough to seal victory for Shaun Wane's side, with Ken Sio grabbing a consolation for the All Stars.
- Hardcastle and Roche double up in England win over France
- Saturday's international double-header as it happened!
Story of the game
After losing to the same opponents at the same venue 12 months ago, England produced a more ruthless and efficient display in front of a 9,393 crowd at the Halliwell Jones Stadium to deliver a victory in Wane's third match in two years as head coach.
As well as Bateman and Williams - the latter struggling for form with club side Warrington Wolves in Super League - skipper Tomkins was in fine form as he led his team to victory for the first time.
There were also impressive returns to the England team from his Catalans Dragons team-mates Mike McMeeken and Michael McIlorum.
With the addition of Jonny Lomax and Morgan Knowles, who both missed the game through injury, and NRL-based players of the calibre of Elliott Whitehead and Tom Burgess to come into the reckoning, Wane has a useful squad to take into the Rugby League World Cup in October and November.
England 18-4 Combined Nations All Stars scoring summary
England: Tries – Jake Wardle, George Williams, John Bateman; Goals – Sam Tomkins (3).
Combined Nations All Stars: Try – Ken Sio.
The All Stars made the more impressive start, with Salford Red Devils' Australian half-back Brodie Croft going close to opening the scoring but, once England found their groove, there was only one likely outcome.
Huddersfield Giants centre Wardle, one of four players on debut, made a dream start, taking Tomkins' pass close to the line to force his way over for the game's first try on 10 minutes.
The All Stars lost Leeds Rhinos middle Matt Prior with a chest injury four minutes later and they fell further behind when player of the match Bateman split their defence and got his former Wigan and Canberra Raiders team-mate Williams haring for the line.
Tomkins kicked his second conversion to make it 12-0, which is how it stayed until half-time, and it did not take long for England to press home their obvious superiority.
Bateman demonstrated exceptional strength to reach out of a three-man tackle to score their third try three minutes into the second half, with Tomkins again converting
The introduction of hooker Kruise Leeming added spice to the All Stars attack in the second half but Wane's team were on their mettle defensively, scrambling superbly to contain a clean break by Wakefield second rower Kelepi Tanginoa.
Wane would have loved a clean sheet but winger Sio ruined that, picking up a pass by his bootlaces from All Stars skipper Shaun Kenny-Dowall to score a consolation try on 65 minutes while centre Rhyse Martin had a late score disallowed for a double movement.
What they said
England head coach Shaun Wane
"Overall, I thought there was more good than bad. There are areas we can improve on, no doubt about that, but I thought we did some good things - especially in the first half.
"Second half, we were a bit clunky, but they're a good team and you can tell they've got two good coaches looking after them. But I thought overall we deserved the win.
"There are some parts which need to improve, but that's our job. We've got a few sessions before the World Cup starts and we look forward to doing that."
Combined Nations head coach Ellery Hanley
"If you give 15 penalties away you're generally not going to win a footy game and, to be honest, England were better disciplined in the first half and second half.
"We played some great footy at times and we had enough chances, but we weren't clinical enough in terms of taking those chances. But I'm very proud of the boys, no doubt about that.
"Just from the degree of playing that 80 minutes, we've had a wonderful week, the players have bought into it and enjoyed themselves."
