Rugby League World Cup: England start wheelchair tournament with victory over Australia

England started their Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup campaign with a 38-8 win over Australia.

The hosts scored two tries each from Joe Coyd, Jack Brown and Nathan Collins.

England and France are both favorites to win the title.

Lewis King scored his first goal in the World Cup.

Rugby league in wheelchairs is a game that follows a lot of the principles of the running game and features a mix of crunching tackles, brilliant ball handling, tough defence, skill and speed.

There are disabled and non-disabled players who can play on the same team at all levels, while male and female players can also line up together.

In front of a record crowd for the sport of 3,033, Australia started stronger and moments after a try was denied, they forced a goal-line drop out.

On 19 minutes, Coyd, the brother of coach Tom, got through as England were patient.

The try, combined with the introduction of Brown, one of two World Cup winners from 2008, gave them a spark and moments later a sweeping move put Coyd in for his second try.

The momentum of the game was with England after the Wheelaroos conceded penalties.

Although they maintained their dominance with King and Collins adding to the scoring, there is a lot of room for improvement before their next game against Spain.

I think we did a good job out there. The player of the match said they were a special group.

The England guys wanted it more than Australia did.

Tom installed confidence in me to trust the process and try to live up to the hype after two years of not playing with England.

This is the first time in World Cup history that we have had something like this. It is a dream come true.

Theo Gonzalez scored 25 points as Spain defeated Ireland 55-32 in the opening game of the tournament.

Although Phil Roberts, a World Cup winner with England in 2008, gave the Irish an early lead, the Spanish scored 30 unanswered points in the first half.