World Cup finalists England still feel short of best

England are into the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup final after thrashing Australia 86-18 – but still have not hit peak form, according to try-scorer Rob Hawkins. Rob Hawkins laughed when asked by BBC Sport whether he had been practising his dives. The question was prompted by some spectacular athleticism as he scored five tries to help England crush Australia 86-18 in Tuesday's Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup semi-final in Wollongong, Australia. "It's just off-the-cuff stuff when needed," he said. "Some of the kicks were cautious!" The man who had provided many of those kicks, Nathan Collins, was sitting beside him. He did not disagree. "He makes my bad kicks look good!" Collins said.

"It is great to have him there to sweep up. He's great to play with and against." England have reason to be in good spirits as they prepare for a fifth successive World Cup final, the fourth in a row against great rivals France. They are looking to defend the title they won on home ground four years ago, a narrow 28-24 victory in Manchester. All of the three previous finals between the two teams have been tight: France won 42-40 in Gillingham in 2013, and 38-34 in Perpignan in 2017. England seemed to set themselves up perfectly for Friday's final, scoring 15 tries against Australia.