Tom Johnstone’s second-half double sealed a rugged 22-18 win for England in the first of their three-match autumn Test series against Tonga in St Helens.
The Catalans Dragons winger had been almost anonymous in the first half but pounced on a pair of chances – the first a sublime floated pass from captain Jack Welsby – as the hosts pulled clear in the second period.
An impressive debut from Hull KR stand-off Mikey Lewis, who made then scored one before the break, also contributed to an encouraging afternoon for Shaun Wane’s men who were still forced to live on their nerves in the final stages.
A late try from Tolutau Koula threatened to set up a grandstand finish but England held on for the win in what was their first serious test since last year’s heartbreaking World Cup semi-final exit.
Tonga, boasting a side bristling with NRL talent, had themselves been looking to recover from a disappointing World Cup and deservedly reached the half-time hooter all-square at 12-12.
But it was the hosts who had made the first move and it took Lewis just eight minutes of his international bow to make an impact as his superb break set up a move that swung left through Victor Radley for Toby King to trot over on the left.
Harry Smith kicked England six clear but Tonga fought back after capitalising on a penalty for a ball steal, Saints’ Will Hopoate providing the decisive pass in a move that sent Wests Tigers’ Starford To’a in on the right edge.
Tonga went in front in the 25th minute when the second of their England-based starters, Huddersfield’s Tui Lolohea, delivered a neat kick for Tyson Frizell, who started his international career with Wales over a decade ago, to dart onto.
Isaiya Katoa’s first successful conversion lifted Tonga, backed by a boisterous band of fans behind the posts, into a four-point lead, before superb solo effort from Lewis, who wriggled through an imposing Tongan rearguard, levelled once again.
Harry Smith curled over the conversion to nudge England in front and Katoa responded with a penalty in front of the posts just before the half-time hooter.
Tonga were clearly growing in confidence, evidenced by the lively Keaon Koloamatangi, who produced an audacious offload to find space for Will Penisini, then bulled inches from the England where he was stopped by a timely Harry Smith tackle.
As the action warmed up, Johnstone’s hopes of a breakthrough were brutally stopped by Hopoate, then the action swung to the other end where To’a was ushered out of play as the visitors threatened again.
Welsby’s brilliance thrust England back in front after 55 minutes when he floated a perfectly-judged pass above the heads of three Tongan players to gift Johnstone the simplest of chances to get off the mark.
And a swift second from the Catalans man, when he pounced to intercept after a fumble by Penisini on the Tongan 40, left the fleet-footed Catalans star to race in under the posts from where’s Smith’s simplest conversion extended England’s lead to 22-12.
Tom Burgess was adjudged to have been held up over the line as England looked to finish the contest off but Tonga set up an anxious last two minutes when Tolutau Koula went over on the left, as if to serve as a timely reminder of two further bruising challenges to come.
Bayern star Kane scores 400th senior goal
Harry Kane surpassed the 400-goal mark for his senior career as his double helped Bayern Munich beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 at the Allianz Arena on Saturday.
Kane moved within one of the milestone as he put Bayern 1-0 up after just nine minutes, coolly finishing from close range after Konrad Laimer's pass had set him up.
Then, after Frankfurt levelled through Hugo Ekitike, Kane slotted home a penalty with typical aplomb following a foul on Thomas Muller to move himself onto 400 career goals and ultimately lead Bayern to victory.
Kane scored 280 of his goals in 435 appearances for Tottenham, overtaking Jimmy Greaves to become the club's all-time leading scorer when he netted for the 267th time in Spurs colours against Manchester City last February.
His tally of 213 Premier League goals, meanwhile, puts him just 47 behind the competition's all-time leader Alan Shearer, who scored 260 times for Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United.
Kane is also the most prolific player in England's history, his 62 goals for the Three Lions coming in 89 international appearances.
He memorably missed the chance to surpass Wayne Rooney's previous record of 53 when he blazed a penalty over the crossbar in the Three Lions' quarter-final defeat to France at the 2022 World Cup, only to clinch his place in history in a Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy three months later.
The very first goal of Kane's senior career came in League One during a loan spell with Leyton Orient as they thrashed Sheffield Wednesday 4-0 in January 2011.
That was the first of five goals Kane scored in O's colours, while he also netted nine times in a loan spell with Millwall in 2011-12 and twice during a stint with Leicester City the following season.
Bellingham alone won't win Euros for England - Desailly
England cannot rely on Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham alone to win them the Euro 2024 crown, according to France great Marcel Desailly.
Bellingham has enjoyed a sensational debut campaign at Madrid that has seen him score 21 goals in all competitions and assist eight more.
Despite still being aged just 20, the youngster will already have the weight of a nation on his shoulders in the European Championship finals.
Desailly is a big fan of Bellingham, but he suggests Gareth Southgate may have to consider tweaking formation if England are to succeed.
"Too much quality can kill the quality," Desailly told Stats Perform. "This is your problem, you see?
"All the players have to be able to perform at the same time and help each other. The Dutch have had this kind of problem in the past.
"The Dutch always have high levels of expertise, but every time it was difficult for them to all unite together at the same time and perform.
"The talent is there for England, even though Fabio Capello has said their defence is a bit weak, which I agree with.
"But too much quality kills the quality. Let's see how the coach is able to adjust the side and make certain choices.
"He may have to remove some of the players into a different tactical system to protect the team for the performances needed."
Bellingham's latest goal came in added time to earn Real Madrid a 3-2 win over Barcelona in a thrilling Clasico clash last weekend.
He is already being mentioned as a frontrunner to win this year's Ballon d'Or, which could depend on how England perform in the Euros.
The ex-Borussia Dortmund ace is also being likened to one of the all-time greats in Zinedine Zidane, but Desailly says there is a long way to go.
"In the game against Barcelona, he wasn't outstanding yet he was still key for his team," the World Cup 98 and Euro 2000 winner said.
"Carlo Ancelotti took Vinicius Junior off because he knew what Bellingham could give him in that position.
"He also has the legs to defend and score the killer goal, or use his cleverness for the collective of the team.
"He's a good player. But trying to compare him to Zidane? It is difficult for us to accept he could be at that level.
"There are differences between them, but the potential of the talents is quite similar."
Leeds twice blew a double-figure lead as Huddersfield hit back to claim a spectacular 30-24 Betfred Super League win at Headingley.
Adam Clune burst across the halfway line in the dying stages to put the seal on a dramatic win that piles the pressure on Leeds head coach Rohan Smith after the Rhinos’ fourth home loss in a row.
The hosts led 12-2 after a forgettable first half but spectacularly combusted after the break and handed the Giants the chance to build on last week’s brilliant Challenge Cup quarter-final win at Catalans Dragons.
Tries from Paul Momirovski and the returning David Fusitu’a had given the Rhinos a sizeable lead after a relatively serene first period in which Jake Connor kicked the Giants’ only points, and which offered no indication of the drama to follow.
It was a different story early in the second half as Leeds lost then duly retrieved their double-figure lead before the hour-mark.
Out of nowhere, Esan Marsters shrugged off three feeble challenges on the Leeds left to grab Huddersfield’s opener, then three minutes later, Adam Swift pummelled the same flank to set up a diving effort in the corner from Elliot Wallis to improbably haul Huddersfield level.
Only a poor night with the boot by Jake Connor – who would nail just one of his six conversions – prevented Huddersfield gaining a stranglehold and the Rhinos were quick to respond, Momirovski crossing for his second of night then Jarrod O’Connor charging through a flat-footed Giants rearguard to put them back in control.
Rhyse Martin’s fourth straight kick look Leeds 12 points clear but home hopes that they had learned their lesson were spectacularly disproved as more shocking defence allowed Swift to squirm over from dummy-half and keep his side in with a shout, eight adrift with 15 minutes remaining.
Incredibly within three minutes Huddersfield did it again as Swift was again allowed to make inroads before feeding Harvey Livett for his side’s fourth, cutting the Leeds lead to four.
Huddersfield were level in the 70th minute, Clune’s ball to the right was brilliantly touched on by Connor for Kevin Naiqama to surge over, but Connor’s problems with the boot continued as another missed kick left the game all-square at 24-24.
As Leeds collapsed, Miller was pushed almost 10 metres over his own try-line and his subsequent drop-out failed to go 10 metres, giving Connor the simplest of chances to send Huddersfield two points clear from in front of the posts.
Clune put the seal on a remarkable evening when Naiqama intercepted a pass from Cameron Smith and survived shouts for a knock-on as he juggled the ball out to his team-mate to finish the job.
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