England's wheelchair rugby league team has offered supporters a source of optimism after the men's and women's sides endured historically early exits from their respective World Cup campaigns.
The reigning world champions began their 2026 tournament in Australia with a 98-18 victory over Wales at Wollongong's Win Entertainment Centre. They will face the USA next in Group A on Tuesday.
England have reached the final at every previous staging of the wheelchair rugby league World Cup, winning the titles in 2008 and 2021. The current side is led by Rob Hawkins, who was recently named the Wheelchair Super League's best player after helping Halifax Panthers win the Grand Final.
Hawkins was central to the opening victory, scoring 11 of England's 18 tries. The 25-year-old is seeking a second World Cup title after also featuring in England's 2022 triumph.
The squad includes Luis Domingos, a former Portugal basketball international who now represents Sheffield Eagles and England, and Jack Brown. Brown spent five and a half years in Australia, where he coached wheelchair rugby league while working as a welder in Queensland's mines. After the tournament, he is due to become Wakefield's wheelchair head coach.
Finlay O'Neill is another member of the team whose career changed direction after injury. He dislocated his knee at 16 and had to stop playing running rugby league, before joining Halifax's wheelchair side three years ago. He has described discovering the wheelchair game as a blessing.
Wheelchair rugby league uses five-player teams, with six tackles available to score. Tackles are made by removing a tag from the ball carrier's shirt. Tries are worth four points, while penalties and conversions earn two, with kicks taken by punching the ball off a tee. Teams can have up to two non-disabled and three disabled players on court at once.
Unlike the running game, the leading nations in wheelchair rugby league are concentrated in Europe. France are England's main rivals and have appeared in the last three finals, winning in 2013 and 2017 before losing 28-24 to England in Manchester four years ago. Ireland, ranked third in the world, also began strongly by defeating the USA 110-10.
Host nation Australia has assembled its strongest squad yet and opened its Group B campaign with a 112-14 win over New Zealand. The results have raised the possibility of Australia winning the men's, women's and wheelchair tournaments, which are being held concurrently, for the first time.
Australia's captain, Bayley McKenna, is the team's first non-disabled captain. He began playing the sport in 2006 to support his father, who was paralysed in an accident. England's Brown likewise entered wheelchair rugby league through a disabled family member, his brother.
Non-disabled players help teams maintain full squads and attract interest, although their participation has also prompted criticism. McKenna said he received abusive social media messages during the previous World Cup from people who believed non-disabled athletes should not play the sport.
Australia's competitive two-match Test series against England last year suggested that the established balance between the leading teams may be changing. For now, England's emphatic opening win has kept their hopes of another World Cup final appearance firmly alive.
Sources: BBC Sport.