Hawkins Scores 11 Tries as England Open Wheelchair World Cup Defence With 98-18 Rout

England have made a winning start to the defence of their Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup crown, running in eighteen tries in a 98-18 victory over Wales in Wollongong. The scoreline was emphatic, yet the mood in the England camp afterwards was notably measured, with the champions judging themselves against their own standards. No player embodied that dominance more than Rob Hawkins. The England star crossed for eleven tries and added four conversions, finishing the match with a personal haul of fifty-two points. Nathan Collins scored four tries and landed nine of his eleven conversion attempts, while Joe Coyd, Jack Brown and Mason Billington also got on the scoresheet. Elsewhere in Group A, Ireland delivered a statement of their own, thrashing the United States 110-10 and breaking their international points record in the process. Ireland ran in twenty tries, with Joseph Calcott scoring seven and Cian Horgan six, to move past the ninety-two points they had posted against Scotland in last year's Celtic Cup. Attention turns quickly to the next round of fixtures on November 3, when England face the United States at 07:30 GMT and Ireland take on Wales earlier the same day at 05:00 GMT.