England beat France 50-38 in Wollongong to become the first three-time wheelchair rugby league world champions

England are wheelchair rugby league’s first three-time world champions. They beat France 50-38 in the World Cup final in Wollongong on Friday night, the latest chapter in a rivalry that has owned this sport since it reached World Cup level.

England led 28-22 at half-time and pulled clear in the second half. Coyd scored four tries, Jack Brown three and Rob Hawkins two. For France, Denuwelaere scored a hat-trick, with further tries to Bourson, Leo Hivernat, Dore and Guttadoro.

How did the final unfold?

England were 10-0 up inside 10 minutes, with Coyd scoring both early tries. France hit back quickly. Mason Billington was penalised for shoving Hivernat out of his chair, sparking a heated clash between the teams, and France scored from the opening. Hivernat then scored himself and threw a no-look pass for Dore as France took the lead.

Hawkins levelled the scores in the right corner. Then, on the stroke of half-time, he put a kick into space and Brown ran half the length of the court to collect it and score. That try gave England a six-point buffer they never gave up.

Denuwelaere opened the second-half scoring, but Hawkins answered in the corner and Brown added two more tries. Denuwelaere’s late third try made the score respectable without threatening the result.

It was a physical final, with heavy chair collisions, running repairs to equipment and a set of goalposts that had to be rebuilt. At full-time the England players sang Three Lions.

Why does this rivalry matter so much?

England and France have now met in four World Cup finals. The last, in Manchester in 2022, was settled 28-24 by Tom Halliwell’s last-gasp try for England. Across the finals of 2013, 2017 and 2022 the two nations were separated by just 10 points in total, and they had won two each of their four meetings since that Manchester final.

Friday’s 12-point margin is the biggest of those finals, and it settles who is on top heading into the next cycle.

Hawkins, who this week was named wheelchair rugby league’s Golden Boot winner, said England kept a ladder in their team room and spray-painted a gold rung for every win. Friday’s win filled the last rung.

For England, the title also rescues their tournament. Their men’s and women’s teams both went out in the group stage.

How did Australia go?

The Wheelaroos signed off with a 70-24 thrashing of Ireland in the play-off for third. Cory Cannane scored early and Toby Popple scored twice in quick succession to make it 16-0 after seven minutes, and Australia led by 36 at half-time.

Bayley McKenna scored his ninth try of the tournament and added two late ones for a hat-trick, and Daniel Anstey also scored three. Cian Horgan and Oran Spain scored Ireland’s tries.

Third place equals Australia’s second-best result at a World Cup. The gap to the top is still wide: England beat them 86-18 in Tuesday’s semifinal.