BBC to show England-France wheelchair World Cup final

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Watch: England hammer Australia to reach final

Published29 minutes ago

England's bid to retain the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup will be shown live and free-to-air on the BBC on Friday.

The final against great rivals France, in Wollongong, Australia, kicks off at 08:45 GMT, and will be broadcast on BBC iPlayer.

England defeated France 28-24, with a dramatic late Tom Halliwell try, to win the last Wheelchair World Cup in Manchester in November 2022.

And the two teams have a history of tight, action-packed matches - having contested the past three finals: France winning 42-40 in Gillingham in 2013, and then 38-34 in Perpignan in 2017.

England head coach Tom Coyd said: "To be flying the flag for England at this late stage of the Rugby League World Cup is an honour for us and we hope we can keep doing the country proud on Friday."

Alongside the live stream, fans can follow the action through BBC Sport's live text coverage, available across the BBC Sport website and app.

BBC Radio 5 Live will also have live coverage of the men's and women's finals on Sunday as the tournament reaches its conclusion in Brisbane, with Australia and New Zealand going head-to-head in both matches.

The BBC Sport website and app will have live text coverage for both the men's and women's finals, and will have digital clip highlights online later on Sunday.

Alex Kay-Jelski, director of BBC Sport, said: "Sport is at its very best when it gives audiences moments they can share, and an England team playing in a World Cup final is exactly that.

"Bringing audiences the biggest homegrown sporting moments is at the heart of BBC Sport, and we're proud to bring rugby fans England's final with France for the world title on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app."

Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup final

England v France

Friday, 13 November, 08:45 GMT

Wollongong, Australia

Watch on iPlayer

Watch live on BBC iPlayer, as well as the BBC Sport website and app, which will also have live text coverage

Wheelchair rugby league - the basics

Image source, SWPixImage caption,

Joe Coyd helped England to an 86-18 victory over Australia in Tuesday's semi-final

Wheelchair rugby league was developed in France as a way of bringing the sport to people with disabilities. It is fully inclusive, with disabled and non-disabled players able to play on the same team, and follows many of the same conventions as the running game.

Teams of five players have six tackles to score. Tackles on the ball carrier are made by pulling off a tag attached to each player's shirt. A try scores four points, with two points for penalties and conversions, which are taken by punching the ball off a tee over the posts.

The game is played with an oval ball and lasts for 80 minutes, with a maximum of two non-disabled and three disabled players allowed on the field at any one time.

It differs in several ways from wheelchair rugby - which is played at the Paralympics. Wheelchair rugby features a round ball and teams of four, has no conversions, and no tackling is allowed (but it is a full-contact sport, allowing collisions between players): Teams instead must dribble or pass the ball every 10 seconds.