RL World Cup: James Roby stakes claim for England shirt

The veteran No 9 was singled out for praise by head coach Wayne Bennett after helping England to a 36-6 victory over France in their final group match in Perth, which secured their place in the last eight.

Roby is hoping he has done enough to keep his spot for the clash with Papua New Guinea in the last quarter-final, in Melbourne on Sunday.

Roby was recalled in place of England’s regular hooker Josh Hodgson while Mark Percival, Mike McMeeken, Scott Taylor and Kevin Brown all played their first games of the World Cup. Bennett said he was satisfied with all of their contributions.

“Wayne will speak to us during the week and tell us what his team selection is,” said Roby.

“There’s good rivalry in this squad in pretty much every position. They’re all quality players. Obviously me and Josh are rotating in training, but that’s the same for the other players.

“We’re all competitive by nature and it probably brings out the best in us without us even realising it sometimes.”

England are now in Perth to set up camp in Melbourne, where they began their World Cup campaign with an 18-4 defeat by Australia three weeks ago.

Bennett’s men have yet to look convincing in the tournament, having failed to make the most of flying starts against both Lebanon and France.

“We’re aware of that,” Roby said. “We need to rectify it. We had a really good start against France and put points on the board, but in the second half our completion was way down.”

Ex-Leeds Rhinos prop Luke Burgess has re-joined Salford Red Devils after agreeing a release from Catalans Dragons who, in turn, have extended the deal of former St Helens scrum-half Luke Walsh until the end of 2018.

Australian ex-Hull KR second-row Corey Paterson has left Leigh Centurions and joined Doncaster Knights on trial terms.