Rugby League World Cup: Shaun Wane explains why Kai Pearce-Paul didn't play in England's victory over France

The head coach was expected to bring in all the players who weren’t involved in the victory over Samoa, but Wigan Warriors’ Kai Pearce-Paul and St Helens’ Joe Batchelor weren’t included in the team at the University of Bolton Stadium.

Wane states it was a decision he needed to make.

He said: “We lost Mick McMeeken, Mike Cooper and Tommy Makinson, so I just couldn’t make 10 changes.

"It would be disrespectful to France and would’ve been the wrong thing to do.

"When you look at the way the game panned out, it was probably the right thing.

"They (Pearce-Paul and Batchelor) will get their chance against Greece.

"They understand because we are so honest together, I tell them the truth.

"They are competitive people who want to play, but they get the big picture and that’s the most important thing.

"One thing we do have as a country is a really good spirit. The people we have left out today, the way they behave is fantastic."