ENGLAND SECURED a place in the Rugby League World Cup quarter finals with an emphatic 94-4 victory over Greece at Bramall Lane, Sheffield.

The hosts hit the front after just two minutes, with St Helens star Matty Lees crashing over from close range.

His teammate Jack Welbsy played a pivotal part in England’s second just ten minutes later, weaving past the Greek defenders before releasing Jon Bateman, whose basketball-style pass set up Dom Young to score once again for his country.

But the visitors rallied through Siteni Taukamo, who slid over from close range to give Greece the lifeline their defensive efforts merited.

The try suggested that a contest might have been on the cards but Shaun Wane’s men were in no mood for that.

Three more from Young and efforts from Ryan Hall, Tom Burgess and George Williams took England to a commanding 44-4 lead at the break, a score line that even the very best teams in the world would struggle to come back from.

England’s intensity continued in the second half, with Tommy Makinson, Marc Sneyd, Burgess and Hall all crossing within 20 minutes of the restart.

England fans will have been pleased to see how many of the so-called ‘squad’ players crossed the try line in the game’s final stages.

While tries from Joe Batchelor and Kai Pearce-Paul, who was outstanding in the centres, should not be sniffed at, the highlights came from hooker Andy Ackers, who buried his way over twice off the back of skilful scoots from dummy half.

The final word was had by Mike McMeeken, who was the recipient of another brilliant break by Young to take England over the 90 point mark and to their biggest win in World Cup history.

Will Shaun Wane have learnt a lot about his side against an opponent of Greece’s quality? Maybe not. But he’ll have definitely been given confidence that if needed, his squad has the strike and size to cope with the challenges that lie ahead in the tournament.

And while it wasn’t Greece’s day, the fact that they competed in the World Cup after years of the sport being banned in the country is reason to celebrate.

They’ll be back.