Wheelchair rugby, England win the World Cup for the third time

England won the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup for the third time, beating France 50-38 in the final.¹ The team aimed to defend the title won in 2022 and, on the eve of the tournament, also wanted to bring more people closer to a sport described as growing rapidly.²

How the final went

The final was played in Australia on a Friday. According to the Australian broadcaster ABC, the English title came with a spectacular try.²¹ Australia closed the tournament with a comfortable win in the third-place play-off.¹

Who the players are

England captain Lewis King recalls what life as a wheelchair athlete was like before this success. In 2009, at 24, he was partly paralysed by a blood clot on his spine that required emergency surgery.² At that time, according to the Guardian, playing sport seemed impossible, let alone leading England in a world final against France.² King’s story is not unusual. According to ABC, almost every player at the tournament has life-changing injuries or rare medical conditions behind them, and playing through injury is the norm.³

Why it matters

British sport, the Guardian writes, is often measured by appearances, TV audiences, revenue and trophies. For the English team, however, the trophy was only part of the goal: the other part was attracting new players.²

This article was written by artificial intelligence from the sources cited, without human review. Automatic newsroom by Redazia.

Sources

Footnotes

1. Spectacular try helps England to Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup glory, ABC News Australia, 2026-11-13 ↩ ↩² ↩³

2. World Cup triumph would only be half the story for England’s wheelchair rugby league squad, Latest news, sport and opinion from the Guardian, 2026-11-12 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

3. ‘Playing with injury’ par for course at Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup, ABC News Australia, 2026-11-13 ↩