England Open Wheelchair World Cup Defence With 98-18 Win Over Wales
England ran in 18 tries on their way to a 98-18 win over Wales on Friday, opening the defence of their Wheelchair World Cup title in Wollongong, Australia.
Wheelchair rugby league is the same game as the 13-a-side version, played by athletes in specially built chairs. A try is the main way to score. It means grounding the ball over the opposition's line, and it is worth more than any other score on the board.
England have won the tournament twice before, so they arrived as the team to beat. They did not waste much time making their point. They led 46-12 at half-time, and the second half was more of the same. Rob Hawkins was the standout, scoring 11 tries and kicking four conversions, the extra kicks that follow a try, for 52 points. BBC Sport
Nathan Collins added four tries of his own and converted nine of his 11 attempts. Joe Coyd, Jack Brown and Mason Billington also crossed the line for England.
Wales had their moments. Stuart Williams scored a try, and Sid Ramsey scored two. Those were the only tries Wales managed, against England's 18.
Hawkins was not fully satisfied, despite the scoreline. He said England "were not playing to our standards", which is the sort of honest verdict teams give when they win big but know they can play better. England's next match is against the United States on 3 November. BBC Sport
The opening round also produced a record for Ireland. They beat the United States 110-10 in Group A, the most points Ireland have ever scored in an international match. Ireland scored 20 tries in the game. Joseph Calcott scored seven of them, and Cian Horgan scored six. BBC Sport
Ireland play Wales on the same day England face the United States, 3 November, so the group picture will start to take shape quickly. Group A is still early, and the next round will show whether the big scorelines were a sign of strength or simply the result of mismatched opponents.
England's match with Wales was the first round of the tournament's fixtures, with a 3.30pm AEDT start. The opening matches were played at WIN Entertainment in Wollongong. NRL.com
For newcomers, the simplest way to read the tournament is through its results. Teams that score heavily and keep the ball in the right areas tend to build momentum. Teams that give away too many tries have a harder climb. England have made the first step look easy. The next step is the one that matters.
