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Sam Tomkins was in scintillating form as England began their World Cup Nines campaign with a routine 25-4 triumph over Wales in Sydney.

World Cup Nines: Tomkins leads dominant England as Australia overcome New Zealand

England and Australia kicked-off their World Cup Nines campaigns in style with victories over Wales and New Zealand respectively in Sydney.

Both teams have named strong squads for the inaugural competition and their quality proved too much in Friday's opening round of fixtures

Sam Tomkins, who has not made Wayne Bennett's Great Britain Lions squad for the tour of New Zealand, starred for England, displaying some wonderful skill before trading passes with Gareth Widdop to cross for the team's second try.

Tomkins then helped tee up birthday boy James Connor for one of his two scores with a sublime behind-the-back pass, as England – who face Lebanon and France in their final pool games on Saturday – cruised to a 25-4 triumph.

Too much to handle #RLWC9s pic.twitter.com/m7WZ1VHqYD
— NRL (@NRL) October 18, 2019

Meanwhile, Australia claimed a comfortable 25-12 victory over New Zealand, with Josh Addo-Carr and Brisbane Broncos youngster David Fifita helping themselves to two tries apiece.

France were edged out 12-8 by Lebanon, while the Cook Islands hammered Tonga 30-7. Samoa overcame Fiji 32-17 in a high-scoring encounter, with the United States going down 27-10 to Papau New Guinea in Friday's final match.

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