England's World Cup exit turns into a week-long wait to fly home

England's rugby league men will not all be home until Friday, a full week after their World Cup campaign came to an end, despite their tournament hopes being extinguished days earlier in Wollongong.

According to Guardian Rugby League, the squad's fate was confirmed as they watched Tonga play Samoa on Sunday, a result that closed the door on Brian McDermott's side after their group fixtures against Tonga, France and Papua New Guinea.

The women's team left Australia more quickly, departing the morning after their own campaign ended in defeat to a slick Samoa side, Guardian Rugby League reported.

The men's squad had been based at a hotel overlooking Wollongong's beaches, close enough for the surfers among them to reach the water in a hundred steps, before relocating to Sydney to await their flights home.

Wigan pair Junior Nsemba and Zach Eckersley were among those filling the extra days with e-scooter rides along Cliff Road and walks on North Beach rather than further rugby league, the outlet noted, while players with family in Australia were able to begin their end-of-season breaks early.

The early exits for both senior England teams have prompted what BBC Rugby League described as planned soul-searching reviews, with the women's and men's campaigns both ending sooner than had been hoped.

There is still a route to World Cup success for an England side, however, with the wheelchair rugby league team continuing their title defence in Wollongong.

England's wheelchair squad opened their 2026 campaign with a 98-18 win over Wales at the Win Entertainment Centre and face the USA in their next Group A fixture on Tuesday, BBC Rugby League reported.

This is the fifth edition of the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup, and England have reached every final so far, winning the tournament in 2008 and again on home soil four years ago.

The squad is led by Rob Hawkins, this year's winner of the Wheels of Steel award for the best player in the Wheelchair Super League, who helped Halifax Panthers win the Grand Final and is chasing a second World Cup title after lifting the trophy in 2022.

Hawkins made an immediate impact in the opener against Wales, scoring 11 of England's 18 tries, with support from Luis Domingos, a former Portugal basketball international who switched both sport and country before joining Sheffield Eagles.

England's wheelchair team will look to maintain their unbeaten record against the USA on Tuesday as they continue their push towards the World Cup final on 13 November.