DESPITE two tries from Warrington Wolves winger Tom Lineham, England Knights lost 32-22 to Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby this morning.

Head coach Paul Anderson said the smarter team won as the series ended up all square.



 

England were leading 18-6 with 10 seconds of the first half remaining but a penalty conceded on the last tackle resulted in a Kumuls try.

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The hosts went into the break with tails wagging and backed that up in the second period as they took a 30-18 lead into the final 23 minutes.

Although Lineham’s second try gave England some hope they never got close to scoring again.

READ: How England beat PNG in Lae

Wire’s Jack Hughes, Toby King, Dec Patton, Harvey Livett, Joe Philbin and Danny Walker all featured in a bruising encounter in hot and humid conditions.

Patton had an eventful 80 minutes, 10 of them spent in the sin bin after a few flashpoints in the second period but the Wire half back had been influential in establishing the first-half lead.

Early handling errors and penalties put the Knights under pressure for several sets before expansive football paid off for the tourists.

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Lineham, who had also crossed in last Saturday's 16-12 Knights win in Lae, put England ahead after 12 minutes with a try made and finished by Warrington Wolves.



 

Wonderful footwork on an outstanding charge by skipper Hughes provided space for Livett to hand over for the winger to athletically dive over in the corner.

Patton converted beautifully from the touchline and four minutes later the Wire stand-off’s long pass gave Wigan winger Tom Davies the room to defy his marker’s tackle and cross in the opposite corner. Again Patton slotted the extras.

The Kumuls hit back in the 25th minute when playmaker Watson Boas fired out a short pass for second-rower Nixon Putt to touch down, with Boas converting.

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England soon responded though with Livett offloading to put Leeds full-back Jack Walker away and a sweet exchange of passes with clubmate Ash Handley allowed the number one to finish off. Patton was sure-footed with the conversion again for 18-6 after 30 minutes.

PNG gave themselves a lifeline from a penalty earned on the last tackle as a quick shift play from the tap resulted in Justin Olam crashing over between Toby King and Davies as the hooter sounded. Watson Boas was on the mark with the conversion to cut the gap to six points.

Skipper Hughes said at half time: “We made a strong start, controlled the ball well but didn’t finish the sets well.

“We then started to give too much cheap ball away and you can’t do that in this weather.

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“We’re not used to these conditions and it gassed us a bit.

“PNG got a few points back. We finished the half badly but we are ahead and have to stay positive.”

Things soon changed though.

Within six minutes of the restart the game was all square again as Ase Boas dug out a route to the line, scoring with a stretch out of Hughes’ tackle. Boas Watson converted.

England defenders Davies and Walker got in the way of each other from a Kumuls high kick and David Mead picked up the pieces to cross, although King felt his last-ditch defence had prevented the Catalans Dragons man from grounding the ball. Watson Boas’ conversion put the Kumuls ahead for the first time.

A try-saving tackle by King on Meade was almost in vain as local favourite Nene Macdonald pounced on a smart grubber kick from Kyle Laybutt for another six points after 57 minutes.

England were forced to reshuffle as they lost a second centre in the shape of King, with what appeared to be a shoulder injury after having lost Handley with a similar problem at half time.

That brought Wire new boy Danny Walker off the bench but things were starting to get a little heated, which played into the hands of PNG as the clock ticked away with England 12 points adrift.

The referee decided he had had enough of it and sent opposite halves Patton and Watson Boas to the sin bin after a scuffle with 17 minutes remaining.

England reacted positively as Lineham evaded the last defender to squeeze over in the left corner with 12 minutes remaining but Livett, taking over the kicking, put his conversion attempt across the face of goal.

Meade got over the line again for PNG with nine minutes remaining but the effort was ruled out for obstruction.

King returned to the action for England but they were struggling to break down the home resistance in front of a hefty and noisy home crowd.

As the game reached a close, Philbin’s high tackle allowed Watson Boas to wrap up the scoring from 38 metres.