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Live sport on SN this weekendEngland take Phileas Fogg 'death route' to Perth
Justin Chadwick, AAP •  October 16th, 2026 11:09 am
Ben Currie's England teammates took an interesting path to Perth for their World Cup opener | Photo: Robbie Stephenson/AAP
England's World Cup coach Brian McDermott has joked his players were left feeling like the character Phileas Fogg from Around the World in 80 Days after a "crazy" travel itinerary that left them buggered when they finally arrived in Perth.
Instead of taking the direct flight from London to Perth, England's players first flew to Singapore.
That's nothing out of the ordinary, but it's from there that things turned truly bizarre.
The World Cup brings together the finest rugby league players on the planet | Photo: Robbie Stephenson/AAP
Instead of making the roughly five-hour flight from Singapore to Perth, England flew for almost eight hours to Sydney, before then hopping on another plane to make the roughly five-hour trek back across Australia to the WA capital.
"The players had the death route to get to Australia. They went around the world four times, I think," McDermott told AAP.
"We waved to Perth on the way over to Sydney, and then went back to Perth.
"Don't ask me why, and it's not a problem other than the fact that we landed and they've been on the road for 46 hours, so that was tough.
"It was a crazy route. The players were buggered when they got here, but they weren't whingeing.
"Everybody was eyes up, ready to go. Nobody was complaining about the route that they had to take to get here, so that's a great sign."
McDermott did his best to make light of the situation.
"We got the same ticket as Phileas Fogg that went around the world in 80 days. Then we landed in Perth," he said with a wry smile.
"We were on the aeroplane with John Candy and Steve Martin - planes, trains and automobiles," McDermott added in reference to the 1987 road-trip comedy film.
Luckily, England's players have enjoyed a week in Perth to acclimatise and get over their jet-lag, with McDermott confident his players will be ready to fire when they take on Tonga at HBF Park on Saturday night.
Addin Fonua-Blake and his Tonga teammates have serious plans for their World Cup opener in Perth | Photo: Robbie Stephenson/AAP
With only two teams out of six across Pools B and C making it through to the semi-finals, the losers of Saturday's match will find it hard to make the final four.
The game will mark McDermott's first in charge since being appointed England coach in April.
McDermott has a strong pedigree given he is the most successful Super League coach in history, having won eight major trophies with Leeds Rhinos.
"He's powerful when he speaks," England captain George Williams said.
"Everybody definitely listens. He's one of those people who grabs the room and commands respect."
Tune into Sport Nation for live commentary of Rugby League World Cup 2026 this October and November - download the app today on Google Play and the App Store.
