England beat Ireland to top Wheelchair World Cup group

Published3 hours ago

England captain Lewis King says his side relish "high-pressure games" after they claimed a 68-32 victory over Ireland to secure top spot in Pool A en route to the semi-finals of the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup.

Joe Coyd (with four) and Rob Hawkins (with three) scored seven of England's 12 tries with Mason Billington and King twice crossing and Jack Brown the other try scorer for the reigning champions at the Wollongong Entertainment Arena.

The result means England head into their last-four meeting with co-hosts Australia on Tuesday (08:45 GMT) with a 100% record, having thrashed Wales and the USA in the group stage.

However, they were far from comfortable against an Ireland side who led 14-0 and 20-4 during the first half before England recovered to take a 22-20 advantage into the break.

"We knew it was going to be a challenge and our biggest in the tournament so far but that is why we are here. We love these high-pressure games," King told Premier Sports.

"Massive respect to Ireland. They came out strong and we had to ride the wave of penalties. Eventually we got through it. It was a great game.

"We had to build ourselves into the game and we did that at the beginning of the second half and we found our groove and a way to win."

In contrast to the first period when Ireland dominated possession, England piled on 40 unanswered points after the break before Ireland crossed again.

However, King was far from satisfied with their overall showing.

"We will concentrate on us. We won't be particularly pleased with our performance today. Our standards are higher," he added.

"We topped the group and that was the first aim. We have done that and we'll take that momentum into next week."

In a repeat of their last-four meeting from four years ago, France pulled clear of the Wheelaroos after a tight opening 40 minutes to win 69-34 and top their group.

The runners-up in 2022, twice winners of the competition, will take on Ireland on Tuesday (06:15 GMT) looking to book a place in their fourth consecutive final.

Earlier on Friday, Calum Davidson scored four tries as Scotland defeated New Zealand 62-18 to record their first-ever win at a Wheelchair World Cup.

"We knew it was there but we tried to not make it a big thing," he said. "The fact we have done it is amazing.

"It is just going to keep getting better and better for us."

Wales also triumphed, 92-18 against the USA, with John Berriman scoring four tries and Fionn McCabe and Jonathan Gill both grabbing hat-tricks to boost confidence prior to the play-off matches for positions five to eight.

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