Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup: England beats Australia 86–18
Rob Hawkins scored five tries as England eliminated the hosts in Wollongong and reached the final, where it will defend its title against France.
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Rob Hawkins scored five tries as England eliminated the hosts in Wollongong and reached the final, where it will defend its title against France.
England beat host Australia 86–18 in the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup semi-final in Wollongong on 10 November, reaching the final and eliminating Australia. It was England’s record points total against Australia.
England will defend the title it won by beating France 28–24 in Manchester in 2022. The teams will meet again in England’s fifth successive World Cup final and its fourth in a row against France.
Hawkins scored five tries and kicked five conversions for 30 points. For his third try, which BBC Sport described as the game’s standout, he chased a long kick and grounded the ball just short of the dead-ball line under pressure from Australia’s Adam Tannock.
Mason Billington opened the scoring in the third minute and completed a hat-trick before half-time, when England led 40–6. He was named player of the match.
Jack Brown scored twice after coming off the interchange. Joe Coyd, Nathan Collins, Chris Haynes and captain Lewis King also scored tries for England. Diab Karim scored Australia’s first try and added another after half-time, and Daniel Anstey added a try.
France won the teams’ earlier finals 42–40 in Gillingham in 2013 and 38–34 in Perpignan in 2017, before England took the title in 2022.
Hawkins told BBC Sport that England still had things to review. He rated the semi-final performance six or seven out of ten and hoped the best would come in the final. Collins said the team needed to repeat its semi-final performance and improve further while following coach Tom Coyd’s approach.
The final is scheduled for Friday at WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong, with kick-off at 19:45 local time (12:45 Yerevan time).
Australia beat Samoa 44–12 as Reece Walsh scored his first international hat-trick, reaching its 16th successive men’s final. New Zealand beat Tonga 34–10 and will face Australia in Brisbane.
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Abbi Church scored 4 tries as Australia set up a final against New Zealand, which beat Samoa 32–0. The final is in Brisbane on 15 November at 05:10 GMT (09:10 Yerevan time).
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England finished Pool A unbeaten and will face Australia in Tuesday’s semifinal at 08:45 GMT (12:45 Yerevan time). France beat Australia 69–34, Scotland beat New Zealand 62–18, and Wales beat the USA 92–18.
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