In the end, this was about as encouraging a warm-up as England could have expected for next Friday’s World Cup opener against Australia. A big win was always going to be somewhat inevitable against a team of second-tier players from the Affiliated States but Wayne Bennett will have learned plenty from the first outing of this tour.
For the head coach, there will now be a week of extensive deliberation about the make-up of the 17 best equipped to beat Australia for the first time since 2006. Barring Jonny Lomax, every player in his squad was given at least 40 minutes to stake a claim to face the world champions in Melbourne. Most of them caught the eye.
In the searing Perth heat, victory was never in doubt by the time England had established a 22-0 lead by the end of the first quarter, but it was a moment midway through the second half that perhaps best underlined the gulf in class between these two sides.
Four Affiliated States players tried to halt a rampaging Alex Walmsley; he left most of them sprawled on the floor, with Bradley Gibson being held upright while he staggered from the field as his evening ended prematurely.
“It’s been a great week and great preparation moving forward for us,” said Sam Burgess.
So what selection dilemmas are there for Bennett to ponder? Perhaps more than he bargained for. Burgess was widely expected to start in England’s front row but an all-action 40-minute display in the back row , where he began his career a decade ago, could now see him switched.
Luke Gale and Gareth Widdop – who had a hand in all six tries that put England 34-6 ahead at half-time before being withdrawn – look assured of starting berths in the halves. James Roby may yet force his way into Bennett’s thinking too after a fine return to the international fold in the second half.
In a sign of what would follow for most of the night, Gale put England ahead after 32 seconds, before Elliott Whitehead – another standout performer in the pack – doubled their lead. Two tries for Ryan Hall, one for Jermaine McGillvary and the pick of the touchdowns from Gale put England well ahead by half-time.
To their credit, the Affiliated States battled throughout but all they had to show for a bruising night’s work were two long-range efforts, one in each half.
England did not let up after half-time – with seven more tries from a much-changed side. Roby, arguably the pick of the bunch in the second half, scored one, while Burgess’s brother, Thomas, claimed two in one of several impressive cameos.
