England and France have named their squads for the wheelchair Rugby League World Cup 2021 final on Saturday morning (AEDT).
Both sides have racked up plenty of points on their way to the showpiece, England putting 125 past Wales in the last four while France beat Australia 84-40 in their semi-final.
It is all set up for a pulsating encounter at Manchester Central as both sides battle it out to be the first to lift a World Cup trophy across a packed weekend.
Latest Team News
Match: France v England
Final -
home Team
France
away Team
England
Team Lists
Line-Ups
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Winger for France is number 1 Lionel AlazardWinger for England is number 2 Robert Hawkins
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Fullback for France is number 3 Mostefa AbassiFullback for England is number 7 Tom Halliwell
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Centre for France is number 4 Jeremy BoursonCentre for England is number 3 Joe Coyd
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Centre for France is number 6 Julien PenellaCentre for England is number 4 Sebastien Bechara
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Winger for France is number 8 Nicolas ClausellsWinger for England is number 5 Lewis King
Interchange
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Interchange for France is number 2 Gilles ClausellsInterchange for England is number 1 Nathan Collins
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Interchange for France is number 7 Arno VargasInterchange for England is number 6 Jack Brown
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Interchange for France is number 10 Florian GuttadoroInterchange for England is number 9 Declan Roberts
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Interchange for France is number 11 Jonathan HivernatInterchange for England is number 10 Wayne Boardman
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Interchange for France is number 12 Guillaume MautzInterchange for England is number 11 James Simpson
Last updated:
Head to Head
This is the third successive wheelchair World Cup which has culminated in a final between England and France.
The historical edge lies with France, who have won the most recent two by narrow margins – 42-40 in 2013 and 38-34 in 2017.
Those results have left England going into the latest encounter looking to lift the World Cup for the first time since 2008, when they beat Australia in the final.
Fun fact
One – or more – of three players on display will end the tournament in the history books. Mostefa Abbasi’s four tries against Australia took his tally to 16, the most scored by a single player in a World Cup – beating Jack Brown’s haul of 15 in 2017. But Brown and Jérémy Bourson sit just one behind going into the showpiece, leaving the honour up for grabs going into the final.
Match: France v England
Final -
home Team
France
away Team
England
Venue: Manchester Central, Manchester
England record
England go into the match in flying form, having racked up three figures in each of their last three matches.
France record
France are also no stranger to bringing up a century, having done so twice in this tournament, though they have conceded more points than their opponents – 67 to England’s 42.
Players to watch
For England, it’s hard to look past Jack Brown. His eight tries in the semi-final win over Wales equalled a World Cup record for most scores in a single game and made him the first man to reach a half-century in the tournament’s history.
France’s Jérémy Bourson was in rampant form against Australia, crossing five times, and has been largely unstoppable throughout the competition. Also look out for the family link-up between captain Gilles Clausells and his nephew Nicolas.
