France Wheelchair Rugby League avenged their World Cup loss over the weekend as they claimed the Fassolette-Kielty Trophy after a 43-34 win over England.
A crowd of over 2,000 gathered in Leeds to support the world champions in an exhilarating contest.
The game kicked off after a minute’s silence for the upcoming Remembrance Day and England wasted no time in getting the scoring underway as Rob Hawkins scored the first try followed by a Joe Coyd conversion.
France replied with 30 unanswered points as eventual player of the match Jeremy Bourson scored twice with Lionel Alazard and Damien Dore also crossing the line.
Coyd scored for England just before the break followed by an early try by Lewis King and a conversion by hometown hero Nathan Collins in the second half.
France retained their dominance however, as Yann Verdi scored before Bourson completed his hat-trick.
Tom Halliwell and King scored for England with Collins converting both but the French were able to hold off the Brits to claim victory.
England captain and Leeds Rhino’s player Tom Halliwell praised the Leeds crowd as he says: “Can’t thank them enough for creating so much noise and creating such an atmosphere.”
”When I scored under the sticks, it was electric, I felt it and it was an amazing experience.”
England have a chance to make amends for the defeat as they travel to Marseille to face Les Bleus on Saturday, 25 November.
England manager Tom Coyd says he “can’t wait” for the matchup in France.
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