Hawkins headlines England's five-WCup-winner squad for Australia — SkimNews
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- Rob Hawkins is one of five 2022 World Cup winners in England's 10-player squad to defend their title in Australia, with Lewis King named captain.
- Hawkins topped the Wheelchair Super League scoring charts this season with 70 tries and scored four as Halifax Panthers beat Leeds Rhinos in Sunday's Grand Final to complete a domestic treble, with Jack Brown adding six.
- Halifax Panthers supply three players (Hawkins, Brown, Finlay O'Neill), London Roosters three (King, Joe Coyd, Mason Billington), Leeds Rhinos two (Nathan Collins, Tristan Norfolk), and Sheffield Eagles two (Luis Domingos, Chris Haynes).
- Head coach Tom Coyd — who led England to the 2022 title in Manchester — confirmed the squad; the team flies to Australia on 22 October for the tournament staged at Wollongong Entertainment Centre alongside the men's and women's World Cups.
- England face Wales on Friday 30 October (04:30 GMT), then the USA on 3 November (07:30 GMT) and Ireland on 6 November (06:00 GMT), targeting a semifinal spot the following Tuesday and a final on 13 November (08:30 GMT).
Why it matters: Five of England's ten players already own a World Cup winners' medal, giving coach Tom Coyd — who masterminded the 2022 triumph — rare continuity as defending champions at a Wollongong tournament co-staged with the men's and women's World Cups. Sunday's Grand Final essentially served as an England trial, crowning more than half the squad in match conditions before they fly out on 22 October.
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