Although a couple of players were nursing minor injuries following their involvement in Friday's 74-0 walloping of Wales, and many of the 15 Leeds and St Helens players who had featured in a punishing Super League grand final a week before were still sore, the mood in the England camp was one of quiet confidence.

England have not won the World Cup since Clive Sullivan led them to success in France in 1972 and are 11-2 second favourites to win this year's 10-nation tournament behind hosts Australia, who are 2-9 with bookmakers William Hill.

Those odds will not trouble England coach Tony Smith, who believes preparations have gone as well as they could have ahead of the opening fixture against Papua New Guinea in Townsville on Saturday, October 25.

"We're in good shape, all things considered, and I'm sure that come our first game we're going to be ready," said Smith, who has spent much of the last 18 months planning for this tournament. "Everyone came through the grand final injury free and we emerged from the Wales game unscathed as well.

"The match on Friday was just what we needed. A few of the players said they needed to blow off a few cobwebs and they did just that. A lot of them enhanced their chances of selection in the World Cup, and that's good. I want as many headaches as I can get regarding selection.

"They keep pushing each other and if one player performs particularly well, it means someone else usually performs better."

The Leeds and St Helens players were not at the Keepmoat on Friday, having been told to have an extended weekend with their families, but most will have watched the Gillette Fusion international on TV and cannot fail to have been impressed by the efforts of their fellow squad members.

England scored 14 tries in all, including eight in the first half when six were claimed by players who are currently en route to Australia, including two each for Martin Gleeson and Paul Sykes and one for man of the match Rob Purdham, who also went on to kick nine goals for a record 22-point haul.

Purdham looked like he could slot easily into England's starting line-up Down Under, but the Harlequins captain said the time for players to press their claims for selection lay ahead.

"That's a battle that starts in Australia," insisted the Cumbrian-born loose forward. "We are all one squad out there and are all striving for the same thing: to win the World Cup.

"If I push someone else they are going to improve their game; if I get in someone is going to be pushing me all the way; and that's going to make the whole squad better."

England's only injury worries from Friday were Gleeson, who tweaked ankle ligaments, and winger Mark Calderwood, Hull's new signing who was substituted just after half-time with a sore knee.

Both players are expected to make full recoveries along with prop Adrian Morley, who sat out the match at Doncaster as a precautionary measure with a stomach muscle strain.