AS reigning champions, they’ll go into this tournament as favourites and rightly so. They’ve not played a match since their Australia tour last year, but all of their players have had a fantastic season in the Wheelchair Super League, and their training camps throughout the year have been plentiful.

Their squad comes from just four clubs, with treble winners Halifax Panthers and dual semi-finalists London Roosters each providing three players. Leeds Rhinos and Sheffield Eagles each provide two, so all the players know each other well.

England should cruise out of the group stages, and will then probably face France or Australia in the semi-finals, and that’s when they know they’ll have to work at their hardest.

Head coach Tom Coyd has decided to take just ten players, so the hope is that they all remain fit, especially when going into the knockout stages, with all five games coming in the space of 14 days.

KEY PLAYERS

LOOK no further than Rob Hawkins. He won the Wheels of Steel this year and rightly so. His 95 tries and 88 goals have put him very much on top of the try- and points-scoring charts in league and cup for 2026 and he was one of the lynchpins that gave Halifax their treble.

Leeds Rhinos’ Nathan Collins helped his side to two finals, and finished second in the points-scoring charts this season as a result. But with 172 goals this season, he’s way ahead of his nearest rival, and this kind of form will be crucial for England’s quest for the cup, where every point will count, especially when they get to the final rounds.

COACH

TOM COYD MBE coached England to glory in the last World Cup, and will be looking to do so again. 

A big advantage over most, if not all of the other head coaches, is that he works full-time in the sport, highlighting the RFL’s commitment to keep wheelchair rugby league growing in England.

SQUAD

Mason Billington, Jack Brown, Nathan Collins, Joe Coyd, Luis Domingos, Rob Hawkins, Chris Haynes, Lewis King, Tristan Norfolk, Finlay O’Neill.