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England thrash Wales to begin World Cup defence

Q: What is this sports story about?

Rob Hawkins says England "were not playing to our standards" despite beginning their Wheelchair World Cup title defence with a commanding 98-18 win over Wales.

Q: Who published this story?

This story was published by BBC Sport on October 30, 2026 and curated on Africa Front.

Q: What related topics does this story cover?

African Football, Trade & AfCFTA, Infrastructure, African Technology

October 30, 2026

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England thrash Wales to begin World Cup defence

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Rob Hawkins said England "were not playing to our standards" despite beginning their Wheelchair World Cup title defence with a commanding 98-18 win over Wales.

Two-time winners England scored 18 tries to Wales' three in Wollongong, with Hawkins banking 11 tries and four conversions for an individual tally of 52 points.

Nathan Collins scored four tries and made nine of 11 conversion attempts, with Joe Coyd, Jack Brown and Mason Billington the other try-scorers for England in a victory Hawkins hopes will be a "stepping stone" towards brighter performances.

"Today's performance was a decent start for the team," said Hawkins. "It wasn't the best match we could have played.

"We definitely felt like we were not playing to our standards, giving away silly errors and giving away points.

"We're building so we can peak at the right time. Today was a stepping stone really."

Wales kept pace with the world champions for the opening 20 minutes, with tries from Stuart Williams and Sid Ramsey cutting the deficit to 18-12.

However, England blew them away with 28 unanswered points for a 46-12 half-time lead before adding a further 10 tries in the second half.

Ramsey added a consolation score for Wales – his second of the match – in the 71st minute.

Elsewhere in Group A, Ireland broke their international points record as they thrashed the United States 110-10.

Ireland's 20-try haul, which included seven tries for Joseph Calcott and six for Cian Horgan, ensured they surpassed the 92 points they put past Scotland in last year's Celtic Cup.

England are next in action against the United States on 3 November (07:30 GMT), with Ireland playing Wales (05:00) earlier on the same day.