England beat France 50-38 to win third Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup in Wollongong
England defeated France 50-38 in the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup final on Friday in Wollongong, Australia, becoming the first nation to lift the trophy on three occasions.
Tom Coyd's wheelchair side delivered the victory that England had framed as a desire to win the trophy rather than merely defend it, producing a triumph that the article says offsets the disappointment felt by the men's and women's teams. Since Tom Halliwell's last-gasp try secured a 28-24 win in Manchester in 2022, England and France had met four times with both nations recording two wins each.
Match scorers were recorded as follows: Tries: Coyd 4, Hawkins 2, Brown 3 Goals: Hawkins, Collins 6 Tries: Bourson, L Hivernat, Dore, Guttadoro, Denuwelaere 3 Goals: L Hivernat 3, N Clausells 2.
Joe Coyd finished with four tries, including the opening two of the match, while Jack Brown completed a hat-trick. Hawkins scored twice, created a try for Brown before halftime and was credited with goal kicking alongside Collins according to the match statistics.
Early in the game Mason Billington was penalised for shoving Leo Hivernat to the ground and France responded with a corner try from Jeremy Bourson. Damien Dore, L Hivernat and Florian Guttadoro also crossed for France, and Dany Denuwelaere added a second-half score during France's strong start to the period.
England regained control after Hawkins acrobatically grounded the ball in the right corner to restore a six-point advantage and, the report says, they never looked back from that point on. The contest featured bruising collisions, heavy chair damage and running repairs, including reconstruction of a set of goalposts amid emotions that threatened to boil over.
The article notes the match combined those physical elements with high-skill moments to produce a nerve-shredding contest for spectators at the Wollongong Entertainment Centre, and records that Hawkins recently became the first player in any form of rugby league to win three successive Golden Boots awarded by the IRL.
England's 50-38 victory secures their third Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup title and, the report concludes, confirms them as the first nation to lift the tournament on three occasions.