England secured a place in the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup final with a dominant 86-18 victory over Australia in the semi-final at Wollongong on Tuesday.
Rob Hawkins scored five tries and added five conversions for a personal tally of 30 points, including a spectacular long-range effort where he chased down a kick millimetres from the dead-ball line to ground the ball under pressure.
Despite the emphatic win, Hawkins rated the team's performance only a six or seven out of ten, saying there are still areas to improve before Friday's final against France.
Nathan Collins, who provided many of the kicks that Hawkins chased, praised his teammate's ability to turn imperfect kicks into scoring opportunities. Collins, who has dwarfism and made his England debut at 16, is preparing for his third World Cup final.
England will face France for the fourth consecutive World Cup final on Friday at 08:45 GMT at the WIN Entertainment Centre. The two nations have contested three previous finals, all closely fought, with England winning the most recent in 2022 on home soil.
Coach Tom Coyd's side will look to replicate their semi-final form, though both players and staff acknowledge the need for further improvement to overcome the only other nation to have won the world title.
