Rugby League World Cup Today: England Battle France For Wheelchair Glory

England are hoping to avenge defeats in the last two finals
07:00, 18 Nov 2022

There may have been genuine hope that England would have at least two teams in Rugby League World Cup finals this weekend, but it is the wheelchair athletes who are flying the flag alone as they prepare to take on France in Friday's final at Manchester Central.

The hosts have turned in a string of magnificent performances so far, topping 100 points in their last three fixtures ahead of a revenge mission against Les Bleus, who have beaten them in the last two Wheelchair World Cup finals.

Here is everything you need to know ahead of Friday’s action…

France v England - Wheelchair Final

Where: Manchester Central Convention Complex, Manchester.

When: 7:30pm (GMT)

TV: BBC Two and BBC iPlayer

FRANCE

RLWC2021 so far:

Group B: Winners (beat Wales 154-6, Scotland 80-15 and USA 116-6)

Semi-finals: Beat Australia 84-40

RLWC History:

Champions twice (2013, 2017)

France squad:

1 Lionel Alazard, 2 Gilles Clausells, 3 Mostefa Abassi, 4 Jeremy Bourson, 5 Thomas Duhalde, 6 Julien Penella, 7 Arno Vargas, 8 Nicolas Clausells, 9 Yann Verdi, 10 Florian Guttadoro, 11 Jonathan Hivernat, 12 Guillaume Mautz

ENGLAND

RLWC2021 so far:

Group A: Winners (beat Australia 38-8, Spain 104-12 and Ireland 121-0)

Semi-finals: Beat Wales 125-22

RLWC History:

Champions once (2008)

England squad:

1 Nathan Collins, 2 Robert Hawkins, 3 Joe Coyd, 4 Seb Bechara, 5 Lewis King, 6 Jack Brown, 7 Tom Halliwell, 8 Adam Rigby, 9 Declan Roberts, 10 Wayne Boardman, 11 James Simpson

FRANCE HAVE BEEN DOMINANT SINCE 2013
FRANCE HAVE BEEN DOMINANT SINCE 2013

Nothing served up on the fields of the running game over the past five weeks has captured the imagination of a new audience quite like the wheelchair tournament has managed. From the opening day of fixtures at the Copper Box Arena in London, the indoor version of rugby league has swept up new fans at a rate of knots.

And the cream has risen to the top once more, with old foes France and England once again meeting in the final following on from their clashes in 2013 and 2017. Nine years ago Les Bleus edged out reigning champions England 28-20 in their opening group fixture and repeated the trick in the final by overcoming the hosts 44-40 at Medway Park in Gillingham. In '17, France once again got the better of the Wall of White in both the group stage and the final, nicking the final 38-34 in Perpignan to retain their crown.

But the world-record crowds and new wave of attention for wheelchair rugby league have helped to create a buzz around England's side in this tournament, with the 125-22 semi-final win over Wales including eight tries from a masterful Jack Brown. If the home side can avenge their previous two final losses, there could be some serious momentum behind the five-a-side code going forward.

England will look to Nathan Collins, Seb Bechara and Joe Coyd to set the platform, along with captain Tom Halliwell, while Brown, Adam Rigby and Declan Roberts have been among those to make big impacts off the bench. Bechara, Brown and Coyd also had the boost this week of being named among the Team of the Tournament selection, although there were also three France players named in the All-Star line-up in the form of Gilles Clausells, Lionel Alazard and Jeremy Bourson, who will be chief among those to cause the hosts some problems in what is certain to be a very tight contest.

Sportsman stat: Between them, France and England have scored 822 points in their World Cup campaigns so far (France 434, England 388) at a combined average of 103 per match.

Betfred tournament odds: France 8/11, England evens

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