England and France will face off in Friday night’s Wheelchair final in a rematch of the 2022 World Cup decider. 

England can now win back-to-back trophies after they demolished Australia 86-18 in tonight’s semi-final at Wollongong’s WIN Entertainment Centre. 

It was the Wheelaroos' second-worst defeat to England, only marginally better than the 81-10 loss suffered in the 2013 World Cup. 

“We didn’t execute what we practised. I just don’t know what happened today, we just seemed to switch off so there’s no excuses,” Wheelaroos coach Brett Clark said. 

“We got picked apart on the wings a bit and we weren’t communicating well. We knew they’d be strong there (sidelines) and we did things in training to counteract that but we didn’t execute.” 

Australia will now face Ireland in the play-off for 3rd and 4th on Friday at 5.15pm AEDT – the curtain-raiser to the final at 7.45pm AEDT.

The French wrapped up their spot with a comfortable 15 tries-to-five win over the Irish 82-26 in the earlier semi-final. 

The Wolfhounds were tenacious in the first half scoring three tries to France’s six, but a wealth of ball in the second half to the Tricolours put any thoughts of a comeback out of reach. 

France are two-time winner of Wheelchair World Cup (2013, 2017) and are undefeated so far in the 2026 tournament with victories over Scotland, New Zealand and Australia to top Pool B before facing Ireland.

Wheelchair World Cup Semi-Finals

England 86 bt Australia 18

England was out of the blocks early with doubles to Robert Hawkins and Joe Coyd helping set up a healthy 30-0 lead by the 25th minute. 

Australia’s first points came soon after through Diab Karim but England added another two for a very handy 40-6 half-time lead. 

Former Queensland captain-coach Jack Brown scored twice early in the second for a 52-6 lead opening up a clear passage to the final for the Empire. 

Mason Billington was Player of the Match with a hat-trick, seven tackle-breaks and 20 hit-ups. 

“We were just so connected and Tom (coach Tom Coyd) told us before the game to play without shackles,” Brown told NRL.com. 

“We have had a lot of structure going through this tournament so we’ve got that nailed down. 

“Now it’s time to show some individual flair but still back up each other as well.” 

Brown faced five of his former Maroons teammates tonight.  

“I still consider them family but I’ve got a job to do today so I have to put that to one side,” Brown said. 

As for the rematch with the French, Brown said it wouldn’t be a rinse and repeat of what worked so well against the Wheelaroos. 

“We’ve been working all the way through with the aim of peaking in the final," he said. "We’ve got a few things still up our sleeve – we’ve got more to give.” 

England won the 2022 World Cup with a 28-24 win over France.

France 82 bt Ireland 26

France rested their two-time Player of the Match from the pool games, Jeremy Bourson, but still snuck away to 32-14 half-time lead. 

In the second half, four quick tries to the Tricolours opened up the gap to 40 points as they starved the Irish of possession. 

Player of the match was Dany Denuwelaere with six tries, but that wasn’t what pleased him the most about tonight’s win. 

“I’m just so glad to be here. I didn’t make it to the last World Cup so I was very keen to give it my all,” he told NRL.com. 

“I wouldn’t be making a big thing about the six tries – I owe my teammates for getting me in the right spot.” 

The Irish also had fairly broad smiles on their faces – this is the first time the Emerald Isle has reached the World Cup semis. 

“We’ve come so far since the last World Cup,” player-coach Phil Roberts told NRL.com. 

“If it was possible we would have finished ninth out of the eight teams that played in 2022 because we were so far behind, so far off the pace. 

“That’s why I am so proud of this group to get us into the top four. It’s come off the back of having a far better domestic competition so we can identify and develop players. 

“And most of this squad is under 27 (years) so we’ll be able to keep them together for 2030 and be a real threat again. Those 20-25 minutes where we couldn’t get the ball really hurt us so we’ll be far better next time.”

Pool B semi-final: Scotland 44 bt USA 12