England thrash Ireland ahead of Wheelchair World Cup semi-finals

Correspondent 09 Nov 2022 3:58 PM

England warmed up for Sunday’s semi-final in the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup with a 121-0 thrashing of Ireland.

Joe Coyd and James Simpson stole the show with four tries each in a stunning 21-try rout at the Copper Box Arena.

Tom Coyd’s men had booked their spot in the last four with a 104-12 victory over Spain at the weekend, but produced an even stronger attacking display on this occasion with Jack Brown and Nathan Collins hitting hat-tricks.

England are now only two victories away from a second-ever World Cup triumph and will have all eyes on Thursday’s Group B clash between Wales and Scotland to see who they will meet in the semi-finals.

Match report

After Tom Coyd’s side hit triple figures against Spain on Sunday, they set about repeating the trick with three tries scored during the opening 10 minutes of this Group A fixture through Sebastien Bechara, Joe Coyd and Tom Halliwell.

By the midway point of the first half they had established a 36-0 advantage, putting them on course to better their weekend thrashing.

Simpson produced the pick of the early scores, finishing off a brilliant team move that saw quick passes from Halliwell, Bechara and Joe Coyd in front of the try line.

Joe Coyd completed his hat-trick after 26 minutes and star man Brown soon made an impact moments after his arrival by bringing up the half-century for England.

Collins had taken over conversion duties by this point but got in on the act just before half-time with a fine finish in the corner.

England held a 66-0 lead at the break following a 12-try effort with Halliwell, Bechara, Brown and Simpson grabbing doubles.

HT: England 66-0 Ireland

Ireland were able to provide some resistance at the beginning of the second half but Brown did complete his treble in the 46th minute after latching onto Collins’ punch forward.

After Collins added the extras, he grabbed another try before the Irish supporters saw their celebrations of a try cut short.

Tom Martin jotted down in the corner but England’s Adam Rigby had ripped off his tag to make the tackle in the nick of time.

Normal service resumed soon after with Collins going over for his hat-trick and minutes later Rigby’s try took the hosts within touching distance of the 100-point mark.

And it was Rigby who brought up three figures with 10 minutes left after fine work by Declan Roberts to give another record-breaking crowd more to shout about.

For the third consecutive double-header a new best attendance was set with 3,847 tickets sold for the final Group A fixtures.

There was still time for Simpson to complete his treble before he and Joe Coyd added further scores to bring the action at the Copper Box Arena to an end.

Spain and Australia had produced a thriller at the Olympic Park venue earlier in the day with the Wheelaroos winning 52-32 to reach the last four.

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Match report

HT: England 66-0 Ireland

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