MANCHESTER – There’s a suburb of Bolton, where England defeated France on Saturday afternoon, called Farnworth.
15 minutes into the game, with centre Herbie Farnworth having a stormer, you’d have been forgiven for thinking the partisan home crowd might rename the whole town after him.
Farnworth had set up two tries and deposited French fullback Morgan Escare into touch in spectacular fashion, backing up a stellar competitive debut in last week’s win over Samoa.
He faded slightly afterwards but was happy to have played so close to home, and with big local backing.
“I’ve not been back playing over here since I was 16, so it was a pretty cool moment being in front of my family and friends again,” he said.
“A lot of people from back home came, so it was nice. It’s a shame I couldn’t get over the line or do a bit better for myself, but I’m just glad the boys got the win.
“Nothing beats English fans. They’re very loud and very passionate, it’s an honour playing in front of fans like that. I’m loving every minute of it.
“I just like working hard for the team and trying to get the win. Today, I didn’t feel like I was my best self so there’ll be a lot of improvement and hopefully I can show what I’m about in these next few games.”
(Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Home was once the tiny Lancashire village of Blacko, but is now Brisbane, where Farnworth moved as a 16-year-old to test himself in the NRL. He has several Broncos teammates in the tournament, notably Australia forward Pat Carrigan and Tonga fullback Tesi Niu.
England could well face Mate Ma’a Tonga in the semi-finals, followed by Carrigan’s Kangaroos in the final, should they make it.
Australia are based in Manchester, not far from England’s training in Wigan, while Tonga are even closer in St Helens. There has been no temptation to go for a coffee, as Farnworth says he is keeping them out of mind with his sole focus on England.
“I briefly spoke to Patty after he made his debut, but I’m yet to meet up with them,” he said. “They’re my teammates throughout the year but now they aren’t. I’m an English lad so I’ll be sticking with these boys.
“It’s a great honour for me to be part of this side. I’m a big passionate English boy, I was born and bred here. People think I’m an Aussie, but I’m definitely not.
“I’ve loved being around this group, it’s nice being with all the new boys. I’ve played against a couple in the NRL, so it’s good to be playing with them instead of against them. All the boys are really good lads.”
The Broncos centre has played both England games so far, as well as their warm-up win over Fiji, and is using the opportunity to get back to full speed after a long layoff with a bicep injury.
“I’ve not played for five months prior to this so any minutes on the field that I can get I’ll take,” he said. “Playing for your country, no matter what game, I’ll put my hand up to play.
“I’m a little bit dusty, but it’s getting better. That game helped because it’s a bit of a slog and it was scrappy. Hopefully I keep adding minutes up and get that match fitness where it was.
“We were pleased with the first game (against Samoa) especially, but the France one was a bit sloppy from us. I don’t think the boys are too happy with how they’ve played, but we got the result and that’s what matters.
“We started well but just let them back into the game. It wasn’t up to our standards so we’ll have to get better if we want to win this thing, which is obviously our goal for this tournament.”
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