France 14-34 England: World champions battle to victory in Marseille
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England and France have been the two dominant forces in wheelchair rugby
England battled to a 34-14 victory over France in their wheelchair rugby league international in Marseille.
Nathan Collins scored twice with Lewis King, Rob Hawkins and Jack Brown also going over at the Palais des Sports.
In a fiery encounter, France captain Florian Guttadoro was sin-binned in the second half for grabbing Rob Hawkins' wheel as he broke for the goalline.
Head coach Tom Coyd said it was the "perfect" response to a 43-34 defeat by France in Leeds earlier this month.
"The players are adapting to the external pressure that grows each time that we take to the field," he said. "We have such a presence and there's expectations put on us by things both on and off the pitch.
"I think the players learnt a lot from the gravity of the event when we played at Leeds, and we dealt with the occasion much better today."
It is only the second time France have lost at home, the first also coming against England in 2019.
The sides, the top two in the world, have dominated the sport with France winning the 2013 and 2017 World Cups before England's 28-24 victory in Manchester last year.
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