England beat France to retain wheelchair World Cup

Unbeaten in the tournament, England retain the title they won in London in 2022, also against France.

Four tries for Joe Coyd

Joe Coyd put England ahead with two tries in the first ten minutes (10-0). France replied with four tries in a row, from Jérémy Bourson, Léo Hivernat, Damien Doré and Florian Guttadoro, to lead 22-10 after 29 minutes. Coyd, who completed a first-half hat-trick, Rob Hawkins and Jack Brown turned it around: England led 28-22 at half-time.

Denuwelaere not enough

Dany Denuwelaere levelled straight after the break (28-28), then brought France back to within four points (38-34) with 18 minutes left, after Coyd’s fourth try. Two Jack Brown tries in five minutes put England sixteen points clear (50-34). Denuwelaere completed his hat-trick in the final minute, for a final score of 50-38.

A familiar duel

In 2022, England had also beaten France in the final, in London (28-24). The three previous finals between the two nations had all been decided by four points or fewer. This time England went through the tournament unbeaten, including an 86-18 win over Australia in the semi-final. Wheelchair rugby league is open to both disabled and non-disabled players.