ENGLAND 50 FRANCE 38
IAN GOLDEN, WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong, Friday

ENGLAND retained the World Cup in brilliant fashion after yet another thriller against old rivals France.

With the last three finals between the two all decided by four points or less, coupled with the form that both sides were in, this final looked like it was going to be another classic, and it didn’t disappoint.

Joe Coyd gave England an early lead, scoring in the corner in the fifth minute. Rob Hawkins’ goal attempt sailed wide.

Coyd was soon on the board again. Following a penalty, he raced through a gap in the centre, making the conversion easy for Hawkins.

France struck back on twelve minutes. Following a confrontation, Rebecca Whiteley gave a team warning to both sides and awarded France a penalty, which they scored from through Jérémy Bourson in the corner with Léo Hivernat converting.

Hivernat was the next try scorer, racing down the wing and avoiding all attempts to tag him. His goal attempt hit the post, so the score after the first quarter of the game was 10-all.

Damien Doré soon added the next try for France, again scoring following a penalty. Hivernat converted again, and they followed that up quickly with a fourth. 

Florian Guttadoro scored in the corner after a good set of passes, Nicolas Clausells this time landed the conversion well and France now had a two-try cushion.

England looked for a try back. Hawkins was tagged just before touching down, but from the next play, Coyd went under the sticks for his hat-trick and Nathan Collins converted.

And they levelled again just four minutes before the break. Hawkins was tagged in the process of scoring, but made no mistake when given a second chance. Collins kicked his 200th goal of the season to put the score on to 22-all.

But they weren’t finished yet in the half. Hawkins was denied a try when the in-goal referee incorrectly ruled his wheel was over the line before he touched the ball down. But from the next play, in a similar move, Jack Brown did get there, and Collins converted to put the half-time score on to 28-22.

France levelled within two minutes of the restart as Dany Denuwelaere scored out wide and Léo Hivernat converted well, but England hit back straight away. 

Brown slipped the ball to Hawkins and the world’s best player again made no mistake. Collins’ fourth goal of the game meant that he brought up 600 points for the season.

After having a try disallowed, Coyd did brilliantly to eventually get his fourth. After Léo Hivernat ran into him and failed to get the tackle, Coyd, who was less than a metre from the line, simply tapped the ball over. Collins couldn’t convert but England had a ten-point lead.

France definitely weren’t finished, as this match continued to thrill. Denuwelaere scored under the posts and Nicolas Clausells converted.

But England sealed the game through two Brown tries in the space of five minutes. Collins added both goals and England had a 16-point lead with ten minutes to go.

France did have the final say as Denuwelaere claimed his hat-trick, but England had done enough.

GAMESTAR: Joe Coyd produced a remarkable display, scoring four tries and working hard throughout.

GAMEBREAKER: Jack Brown’s final try, coupled with England’s defence in the last ten minutes. 

MATCHFACTS

ENGLAND
1 Joe Coyd
2 Rob Hawkins
3 Tristan Norfolk
4 Lewis King
5 Mason Billington
Subs (all used)
6 Nathan Collins
7 Luis Domingos
8 Jack Brown

Tries: Coyd (5, 8, 32, 58), Hawkins (36, 44), Brown (40, 64, 69)
Goals: Hawkins 1/2, Collins 6/7

FRANCE
6 Jonathan Hivernat
2 Damien Doré
3 Florian Guttadoro
4 Jérémy Bourson
10 Léo Hivernat
Subs (all used)
1 Gilles Clausells
7 Dany Denuwelaere
13 Nicolas Clausells

Tries: Bourson (12), L Hivernat (20), Doré (23), Guttadoro (28), Denuwelaere (42, 61, 79)
Goals: L Hivernat 3/4, N Clausells 2/3

SCORING SEQUENCE: 4-0, 10-0, 10-6, 10-10, 10-16, 10-22, 16-22, 22-22, 28-22; 28-28, 34-28, 38-28, 38-34, 44-34, 50-34, 50-38

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Players of the Match
England: Joe Coyd; France: Dany Denuwelaere

Penalty count: 8-7
Half-time: 28-22
Referees: Rebecca Whiteley and Stephane Vincent