Kicking off a weekend of international Rugby League, England hosted France at Robin Park on Saturday in a Wheelchair fixture.

After soaking up some pressure from the Away side, England were able to score on their first real attack of the game after Nathan Collins broke through the centre of the court. From there, a right to left spread play allowed Josh Butler to score in the corner. Collins added the extras to make it 6-0.

Doubling the lead, Rob Hawkins chased down a Collins kick from within his own half before beating the retreating defenders to the ball. Again, Collins added the additional 2 points.

Just 12 minutes into the game, England were looking rampant. A kick from Tom Halliwell from the half way line was collected on the bounce by Collins, who then offloaded to the supporting Hawkins. Making it 18-0, Collins continued his success from the tee.

After being caught cold by England, the French side finally got their first score on the board when Leo Hivernat was able to find a gap in the defensive line to reach out and touchdown. He was then able to convert his own try.

A frantic first quarter saw Hawkins complete his hat trick when his electric pace allowed him to race through the middle of the court. Taking the score to 24-6, Collins slotted the ball between the up rights.

The game then endured a tense period with both sides having plenty of the ball, but not being able to capitalise. It was a second try by L. Hivernat that broke that deadlock and reduced the gap. His angled run across the face on the defensive line allowed him to catch Halliwell on his heels on the right wing.

Having been introduced after the last try, Seb Bechara was quickly into the action as he was the beneficiary of some slick and quick handling by this teammates that gave him space down the left flank. A last ditch tackle wasn’t enough to stop him crashing over in the corner, which then saw Collins open up an 18 point lead with the successful conversion.

The half was to finish as frantically as it started, with Damian Dore flying down the right flank after a cut out pass gave him an overlap, but another England try, right on the hooter, kept them firmly in control. Having just scored, the French made an error from the kick off that gifted England territory. From a quick play the ball by Bechara, Hawkins registered his fourth try of the game and Collins remained consistent from the tee for a 36-18 half time score.

With a commanding lead, England continued to heap the pressure onto France after the turnaround. Tries by Joe Coyd and a second for Bechara opened up a 30 point lead.

With little to show for their time with ball in hand, France opted to go for a drop goal to keep the score board ticking over. But after that, they were then able to cross the line when Adrian Zittel attracted the attention of two defenders which then gave Julien Penella space in the corner.

Similar to the first half, a France error on their own try line gifted Halliwell the opportunity to score. Like a metronome, Collins slotted over the extra 2 points to make it 54-23 to England.

Tries were now coming thick and fast, Adrian Zittel the next to score after an attack by Dore sucked in the wide defenders and allowed him the space to score. Becoming the third kicker for the visitors, Penella converted the try.

Making his England debut, Mason Billington was making a good impact in the game, but he then got the dream moment when some quick hands by Butler allowed Halliwell to break the line and supply him with the pass as the try line beckoned.

A second by Zittel, again due to a condensed England defence was the last hurrah for France before the game was sealed by Billington. A kick from deep inside his own half by Collins saw both Billington and Collins chasing it down, but it was the debutant who managed to touch the ball down just inches from the dead ball line to make it a brace. Adding his eleventh straight conversion, Collins took the final score to 66-33.