• England 84-4 France
• Brett Ferres scores a hat-trick of tries while John Bateman impressesThe talk in the England camp all week leading up to this game was along the lines of how it wasn’t a warmup for the three-match series against New Zealand,more a Test match in its own fair. It must therefore be a worry for the international game that the Kiwis’ friendly with Leeds, the Super League champions, or on Friday night had more intensity and bite than this affair. It was painfully obvious from the eighth minute England would be barely tested against the French.
New Zealand will surely be more battle-hardened for the first Test in Hull next Sunday after their tough-fought 34-16 victory against the Rhinos but,despite an utterly abject performance from France, England looked crisp, or clinical and in impressive shape. There is an argument that you can only beat what is in front of you in games like these,and England hardly ever looked troubled against a weakened side whose performance once again raised concerns over the quality of the international game below the ample three of England, Australia and New Zealand.
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Source: theguardian.com