Palais Des Sports, Marseille, Saturday
ENGLAND flexed their world champion-sized muscles in Marseille with a comprehensive victory over France in a fierce and often brutal battle between bitter rivals.
This continental clash between the two best wheelchair Rugby League nations in the world is building into something very special and it needed a very special performance to take the Fassolette-Kielty Trophy back across the Channel.
England had to cope with the late withdrawal of Golden Boot-winner and leading player Seb Bechara, who was replaced just before kick-off by ninth man Lewis King.
But cope they did, and more, with a bristling display of controlled aggression and pace in attack plus a steely resolve in defence.
The disjointed and out-of-sorts approach England had in the first game of this international double header (where France won 43-34 in Leeds on November 5) was instantly dismissed as coach Tom Coyd’s players were transformed into a slick and fluid team whose game management and discipline were crucial in this contest.
England rattled France physically and mentally in the opening stages of the game and the hosts never recovered with a 12-3 penalty count and poor kicking display (one goal from five attempts) killing any hopes of a home win.
The French were clearly unsettled by England’s clever and clinical approach and captain Florian Guttadoro was sinbinned late in the game for losing his cool after a series of running verbal battles with the match officials.
France made two changes to their squad from their victory in Leeds, Nicolas Lemaitre and Mostefa Abassi coming in for Julien Penella and Arno Vargas, while England retained the same group of players - only Bechara’s last-minute absence from the starting eight was the difference, with Wayne Boardman coming into the team after ninth-man duties in Leeds.
Tom Halliwell lifts the Fassolette-Kielty Trophy
But there was a huge difference in performance from both sides, with England racing into an early lead in total contrast to the events of the previous fixture.
Late replacement King was on time to score in the first minute with a simple scoot into the left corner, catching the French defence asleep.
The try was converted by his fellow winger Rob Hawkins, who added his own touchdown when he collected and scored from a clever kick by captain Tom Halliwell.
Josh Butler added a penalty, putting England 12-0 ahead in the opening exchanges, but France struck back when Adrien Zittel drifted laterally on the England tryline before pouncing to score.
Sensing a French fightback, coach Coyd sent Brown on from the bench but his first contact resulted in a wheel flying off and a speedy retreat for repairs.
However, his rapid return caused France problems all over the pitch, particularly in defence where he disrupted wave after wave of attacking moves.
England weathered the storm and added to their lead when Nathan Collins scooped low to collect an awkward pass and stretch over the line from short range, putting his side in a commanding 18-4 lead at the interval.
Former France captain Gilles Claussels conducted an on-pitch teamtalk and it seemed to work.
Alazard was off-target with an early penalty shot but Mostefa Abassi was bang on target with a precision burst through the England defence and a long-range strike, Guttadoro taking over kicking duties with the conversion.
But any hopes of a French renaissance were let down by an alarming series of penalties conceded by the home team, who were becoming increasingly frustrated at decisions by the officials.
Guttadoro scored on the left, scything through a rare gap in the England line, and then Jérémy Bourson ruined any momentum with an illegal ball steal, Collins converting the penalty.
Collins rubbed more salt in the wound by scoring from a brilliant pass out the tackle by Brown to put clear daylight between the sides at 28-14.
HIGHLIGHT REEL
Jack Brown’s clever strike in the corner directly after the French captain’s yellow card was clever and crucial to maintaining winning momentum in the game.
If it wasn’t over already, it was when Guttadoro received a yellow card for a blatant wheel-grab and tip on Hawkins in the 68th minute, and Brown sealed victory by scoring in the very gap left vacant by the sin-binned French captain.
Bourson, who had been so dominant in the Leeds fixture, had been cleverly marked out of this game but he managed to get on the scoreboard in the closing stages with an elusive lunge over the line.
It was almost symbolic when Alazard hit the post with the conversion, because France had been off-target in every department throughout the game.
Some bad-tempered exchanges in the closing minutes bore testimony to French frustrations but all of the credit must go to England, who had learned the lessons of defeat three weeks before and turned the tables emphatically on their rivals.
Halliwell was calmness personified as all around him seemed a chaos of collisions and complaints, while Joe
Coyd’s masterful midfield display was the major difference between the sides.
If only the competitive nature of this format of Rugby League could be replicated in the regular running versions, because this fierce rivalry between two well-matched sides would be brilliant for the international game which so desperately needs a northern hemisphere boost.
It’s clear that these two sides respect each other off the pitch but for 80 minutes they are ferocious and committed warriors who will do anything to win and the intensity of feeling has just gone up another notch.
Roll on more wheelchair Rugby League, Marseille was a blast.
► GAMESTAR
Jack Brown just edged Joe Coyd and Rob Hawkins for his sheer threat in attack and defence, with blistering pace turned on at the flick of a wrist.
► GAMEBREAKER
A high-speed chase-back and clearance by Jack Brown to stop Lionel Alazard from scoring stopped a mini-French comeback in the second half.
► TOP TACKLE
There were so many huge collisions but a subtle doubletouch by Tom Halliwell and Josh Butler to tip Jérémy Bourson over in the 24th minute set the tone of the game.