England kept alive their faint hopes of reaching the Rugby League World Cup semi-finals with an 82-0 trouncing of France.

Herbie Farnworth and Dom Young scored hat-tricks as England overcame a nervy start in Perth to boost their scoring difference and remain in the hunt for a last-four spot heading into the final round of pool matches.

England entered the game staring at a 150-point deficit following Samoa's landslide win in Papua New Guinea earlier on Saturday. They took a sizeable chunk out of that with a 14-try victory but require another big win when they face the Kumuls in Wollongong on Friday, and will also need a favour from Tonga against Samoa on November 1.