England reaction: Shaun Wane pleased with RLWC win over France but wants more improvement
Boss Shaun Wane is refusing to look further than next Saturday’s clash with Greece after England beat France to go two from two in the World Cup.
England are all-but guaranteed a place in the quarter-finals and victory over Greece in Sheffield next weekend would seal top spot in the group.
England have made an impressive start to the tournament, but Wane is refusing to get carried away.
He insisted: “I want to beat Greece in a good manner, with good habits, then we’ll see where we are. We’ve won two games, but there’s a lot of talent in this competition which we need to be aware of.”
Reflecting on the win at Boilton, Wane said: “I thought the French were good, they challenged us. I knew after the highs of last week it wasn’t going to be plain sailing.
“Overall I am pleased to win a Test match, scoring 40 odd points against a very good team, but I know how much we can improve.”
Wane felt England – who hammered Samoa 60-6 in their first game – were “outstanding” in the opening quarter, but added: “In the second 20 we sightly went away from it, but I don’t want to talk the French down.
“There’s a couple of areas in the second quarter where we can get better. In patches we can defend better, we were 18-0 and then went away a little bit from what we can do.”
England lost former Leeds Rhinos captain Kallum Watkins to concussion in the second half.
He will miss the Greece game and Wane said: “It was a head clash, he was out for a while, but he’s good now.”
Another ex-Leeds man Ryan Hall crossed twice and is now international rugby league’s third-highest try scorer.
Hall said: “It’s a by-product of playing in a good team. There’s a lot of cogs in the wheel that provides for me.”
French coach Laurent Frayssinous was pleased with his side’s performance and felt the scoreline didn’t reflect the game, but tipped England as potential World Cup winners.
“They have got a massive pack of forwards, their back-five could be the best in the tournament,” Frayssinous said.
"They have got experienced, quality players. I am sure they will challenge Australia and New Zealand and they can beat them.
“Definitely they can win the World Cup, but the good thing for us is we challenged them in a few areas.”