Wheelchair Rugby League Ashes: England beat New South Wales 86-10

Rob Hawkins scored five tries in the second half as the England wheelchair rugby league team kicked off their tour of Australia with an 86-10 win over New South Wales in Sydney.

Hawkins, the reigning International Wheelchair Player of the Year, is aiming to complete a memorable 2025 with an Ashes series win after helping his club Halifax Panthers win the treble: Challenge Cup, League Leaders Shield and Grand Final.

England scored 15 tries as coach Tom Quaid gave all 10 of his side’s players half a game each – with five playing in the first half and the other five in the second half.

Hawkins’ Halifax teammate Jack Brown scored three of England’s first four tries, with debutant Luis Domingos, captain Louis King and veteran Wayne Boardman also scoring before half-time. Boardman added five goals.

Finlay O’Neill, another Halifax treble winner, made his debut in the second half, when Leeds pivot Nathan Collins scored 20 points from a try and eight goals, while Wales of Steel winner Joe Quaid touched down once and Seb Bichara twice.

“Obviously we’ve been suffering from jet lag and a bit of fatigue this week after the flight, but that’s why the game against NSW is so important,” Tom Quaid said.

“It’s been almost a year since we last played as an England team, with the test against France last November, so we needed to get out on the field together.

“It was great to see Finlay O’Neill and Luis Domingos playing for England for the first time, and I think we’ll wake up on Saturday morning knowing we’ve arrived in Australia.”

England face Queensland on the Sunshine Coast next Monday before two Tests against Australia on October 30 and November 2 on the Gold Coast.