England almost completed a remarkable fightback in Saturday's Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup final at Medway Park.

A disappointing opening half had left them 24-6 behind against France but the hosts,
playing in front of a sell-out crowd in Gillingham, narrowed the gap to 42-40 and missed taking the game into extra-time after failing to convert their last-gasp try.

England manager Martin Coyd said: “It was disappointing. We worked hard for a long time and the reality is that we did not perform well enough in the first half. Every time we made a mistake, France punished us.

“In the last 20 minutes, something clicked in the England team and they let rip. The stuff we had been working on in training came into play and there was so nearly a Hollywood moment.

“The guys never gave up with their backs to the wall. The England lads are all young men and they showed tremendous character and belief and we went into the last five minutes believing we could win.

“It was emotional, as you just want the guys to succeed and do well. We said before that hopefully they will get what they deserved and they nearly did.

“In the end we were close but France put in a fantastic performance and were great. It was an outstanding display of how to play the game.”