• Pool B + C: England 34-12 Papua New Guinea

• Women’s side crash out after defeat by Samoa

Game over. Two ultimately straightforward victories from three group games would ordinarily be enough to secure qualification in the Rugby League World Cup, but the format means that, barring a rugby league miracle from Tonga on Sunday, England are heading home early.

That format – 10 teams in lopsided groups and England in a unique position of being effectively out after defeat on the opening weekend – has been a point of discussion since that defeat by the Tongans a fortnight ago. But at some stage, the attention has to turn internally and the tough, uncompromising questions have to be asked of English rugby league.

Supporters in western Sydney are adding colour and community to the tournament as their home nations compete on the global stage

At Harold Wood Uniting Church in Auburn, Viliame and Talita Latu are the centre of attention. The local Tongan congregation, which revitalised the 116-year-old church building in 1997, is celebrating the couple’s first Sunday church service as husband and wife.

But the number of Tongan flags fluttering from cars outside show the pair aren’t the only thing on people’s minds this week. Tonga’s representative rugby league team, Mate Ma’a Tonga, handily beat Lebanon’s Cedars in front of more than 25,000 fans at Commbank Stadium in Parramatta the Friday before in the Rugby League World Cup. In a case of terrible timing, the match clashed with the couple’s wedding day.