New world order: Wheelaroos dare to dream of RLWC26 glory

After being told that his side was closing the gap with the world’s No.1 team, Wheelaroos coach Brett Clark declared: “They say they are, but maybe that will change come the World Cup”.

Clark and the Australian players are daring to dream of World Cup glory at home next year after proving that they can match it with world champions England in a two-Test Wheelchair Ashes series that went down to the wire.

Only a late Joe Coyd try denied the Wheelaroos their first win or draw against England on Sunday after leading 30-18 at halftime and 42-26 midway through the second half.

England and France have dominated Wheelchair Rugby League since the concept began in 2008, but the Wheelaroos have accelerated their development with a focus on hosting RLWC26, and they led for the majority of Sunday’s thrilling Test at Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre.

“It is the closest we have ever got,” a disappointed Clark said. “It is a credit to the players. We haven’t had a lot of preparation leading up to this but we got together as soon as we got to the Gold Coast and really dug in for a couple of hours to work out what our strategy was and where we were at.

“The team dynamic has changed a bit, and the biggest thing is that we are no longer coaching the fundamentals of wheelchair rugby league, we are now coaching strategy – game play and execution – which is a completely different shift.

“The last five minutes was probably our undoing and the error count skewed dramatically in the second half, along with penalties.

"That is probably us still needing a bit of maturity but come the World Cup we are going to be extremely dangerous.”

Bayley McKenna, who missed the series opener, was player-of-the-match after scoring two tries and landing seven conversions for a personal haul of 22 points.

Zac Schumacher, who was Australia's best in the 56-28 opening Test loss, again proved a handful as the Wheelaroos ramped up the physicality in a strong start to the match.

“The team that was selected from when I took it on in 2019 until now has been like that long view,” Clark said. “At the last World Cup, it was like let's go onto that stage, bring some young ones in and really give it a crack.

Now it is like we are contesting the game where we could possibly have one hand on that trophy already.

"That is a team belief as well, but we have now got to not only physically improve and game-way improve but mentally improve.

“Those moments show that we are not quite there yet in a game situation. England has had this journey themselves over the years but I’m really proud. It is the best we have done against England in recent years.”

England coach Tom Coyd believes his side got the test they needed ahead of next year’s World Cup in Australia after snatching victory with his brother Joe’s 79th minute try.

“That is exactly what we wanted coming over here and it is a massive credit to the Wheelaroos,” Coyd said.

We didn't want to go home without being truly tested.

“I am not saying that we were 100% confident all the time but that is why you do it. That’s when you feel alive when you are in a game like that.”

Jack Brown, the 2019 IRL Golden Boot winner who coached Queensland while living in Townsville, initiated the England fightback with a second half performance that was dazzling even by his own high standard.

Brown, Seb Bechara (2022), who didn't play the Second Test, and Rob Hawkins (2024), the Ashes player-of-the-series, were each presented with their Golden Boot trophies by IRL Chair Troy Grant before the game.

Brown scored two tries and laid on another two for Lewis King, the London Roosters wing who ended with a hat-trick in his second Test as England captain, before rookie Mason Billington put Coyd over for the match winner.

“I think the Wheelaroos have improved massively and we expected them too,” Coyd said.

“They are a different team when they play in Australia and they will be very, very buoyed about playing here in the World Cup next year. I can’t wait to play against them with a full crowd of partisan fans because the atmosphere just changes the game completely.

“In terms of the matches, I think they had a really clear idea of how they wanted to play and they executed it pretty consistently. That disrupted our flow.

"You could say our players are more experienced when it comes to playing rugby but the Wheelaroos know how to manage a game.”

England 48 (Rob Hawkins 2, Finlay O’Neill, Jack Brown 2, Lewis King 3, Joe Coyd tries; Nathan Collins 5, Rob Hawkins goals) def Australia 42 (Diab Karim, Bayley McKenna 2, Adam Tannock, Dan Anstey 2, Zac Schumacher tries; Bayley McKenna 7 goals)