England, champions of the world. You only have to go back a few years since wheelchair rugby league was being played in empty sports halls. So here in Manchester, as almost 5,000 people watched England win the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup on home soil, with the nation having taken this incredible sport to its heart, it was hard not to feel a little moved.
It was Tom Halliwell’s try three minutes from time which ended France’s grip on the trophy, having beaten England by narrow margins in the 2013 and 2017 finals. The world’s two best sides were never more than eight points apart all evening but in the end, it was England who won a thrilling, compelling final.
