England thrash Wales to begin World Cup defence

England opened their Wheelchair World Cup title defence with a dominant 98-18 victory against Wales in Wollongong. Two-time winners England ran in 18 tries across the match, led by Rob Hawkins who scored 11 tries and kicked four conversions to compile an individual tally of 52 points. Nathan Collins added four tries and nine conversions, while Joe Coyd, Jack Brown, and Mason Billington also crossed the try line.

Wales remained competitive through the opening 20 minutes with tries from Stuart Williams and Sid Ramsey, before England established a 46-12 half-time advantage. Ramsey added a late consolation try for Wales. Despite the comprehensive scoreline, Hawkins stated that England were not playing to their standards and made silly errors. England will next face the United States on November 3.