England beat France 50-38 to claim third Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup

England beat France 50-38 in Wollongong, Australia, on Friday to retain the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup and become the first nation to claim three titles.

Joe Coyd crossed for four tries and Jack Brown scored a hat-trick as England fought back from a first half in which France ran in four unanswered tries.

"There were five minutes left and I looked up and I went 'damn are we that far ahead'," Brown said after the final.

It was the fourth consecutive tournament in which the nations met for the title. France took the trophy in 2013 and 2017, before Tom Halliwell's last-gasp try gave England a 28-24 victory over France in the 2022 Manchester final.

A combined 10 points separated the teams across those three finals. In four meetings between the 2022 final and Friday's match, each team won twice.

Before and during the tournament, Tom Coyd's England side talked about winning the trophy rather than defending it.

Joe Coyd opened the final with two tries, putting England ahead 10-0. France answered after Mason Billington was penalised early for shoving Leo Hivernat to the ground, with Jeremy Bourson scoring following the penalty, BBC Sport reported.

Hivernat, Damien Dore and Florian Guttadoro followed Bourson over the line as France scored four tries without reply. The Independent put France's lead after that run at 22-10, while Sky Sports gave the score as 16-10 after the fourth try.

Just beyond the half-hour mark, Joe Coyd completed his hat-trick and brought England back into the contest.

Rob Hawkins and Brown crossed late in the half, sending England into the break with a 28-22 advantage. Hawkins got past two French defenders before creating Brown's try. Brown grounded a Hawkins kick with seconds remaining in the half, a score Sky Sports described as a contender for try of the tournament.

Dany Denuwelaere drew France level soon after the restart, but Hawkins immediately scored his second try in the right corner to put England six points ahead again.

Joe Coyd added his fourth try after half-time, while Brown crossed twice more to complete his hat-trick and take England to 50 points. Denuwelaere finished his own hat-trick with a late consolation try for France.

Nathan Collins kicked six conversions for England, and Hawkins added a goal. For France, Hivernat kicked three goals and N. Clausells kicked two.

The final required running repairs to equipment, including the reconstruction of a set of goalposts.

Hawkins, a Halifax Panthers wing, recently became the first player in any form of rugby league to win three successive Golden Boots, the International Rugby League award for the world's best player in a calendar year.

The victory gave Brown his third World Cup title. "I am feeling amazingly proud," he said afterward.

"I am feeling a bit out of body at the moment. It was an incredible display and it was just so much fun playing with the guys," Brown said.

"We said we had to work hard for each other and that is what we did today," he said.