England beat Ireland to top Wheelchair World Cup group

England overcame Ireland 68-32 at the Wollongong Entertainment Arena, securing the top position in Pool A of the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup and guaranteeing a semi‑final clash with co‑hosts Australia on Tuesday at 08:45 GMT.

Joe Coyd contributed four tries while Rob Hawkins added three, together accounting for seven of the twelve scores. Mason Billington and captain Lewis King each crossed twice, with Jack Brown completing the tally for the defending champions.

The match saw Ireland dominate early, leading 14‑0 and later 20‑4 before England rallied to finish the first half 22‑20 ahead. After the break England surged, posting 40 unanswered points before Ireland managed another try.

"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. He added, "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."

Despite the victory, King said the performance did not meet the side’s expectations: "We will concentrate on us. We won't be particularly pleased with our performance today. Our standards are higher. We topped the group and that was the first aim. We have done that and we'll take that momentum into next week."

In other pool results, France defeated the Wheelaroos 69‑34 to finish atop their group, while Scotland recorded a historic 62‑18 win over New Zealand, with Calum Davidson scoring four tries. Davidson said, "We knew it was there but we tried to not make it a big thing," and added, "The fact we have done it is amazing. It is just going to keep getting better and better for us." Wales also beat the USA 92‑18, with John Berriman scoring four tries and both Fionn McCabe and Jonathan Gill achieving hat‑tricks.

The runners‑up from 2022, France, will face Ireland on Tuesday at 06:15 GMT, aiming to reach a fourth successive final.