England Wheelchair Head Coach Tom Coyd has welcomed the progress his side showed against USA as they secured their second victory in the Rugby League World Cup.
Despite opening their campaign with a convincing win over Wales, Coyd and his squad felt they still had more to give, something they were able to demonstrate in their success over USA.
“I’m not at all focused on the number of points we scored, not necessarily the amount of points the opposition scored either. It was that we wanted to play in our style and I definitely saw that,” said Coyd.
“I'm not saying that we've cracked it and we can just go on and do that in the next three games. We've got to keep earning it. But I'm standing here much happier today than I was on Friday.”
All ten squad members have now featured in the competition and scored at least one try across England’s opening two games, underlining the range of options available to Coyd.
That competition for places gives him plenty to consider before naming his starting line-up against Ireland on Friday:
“That’s where you want to be as a coach.
“That group who started, none of those guys have got a World Cup winner's medal and you can see how hungry they are for it.
“The competition in the squad is super high and, as a coaching staff, we've got to maintain that competition while keeping the group connected. That's going to be the key for the rest of the tournament.”
The USA match was particularly memorable for Finlay O’Neill, who earned the Player of the Match award after landing 15 conversions from 16 attempts and scoring two tries.
Still early in his international and Super League career, O’Neill also drew praise from Coyd for the way he took charge of the team:
“I wasn't expecting him to get selected as that [Player of the Match] because he didn't play the full game like some of the other guys did,” added Coyd.
“But I thought he controlled it hugely well. I think that he's still in sub-five games in an England shirt and family have seen him play a full international for England for the first time today, so I think he would have felt the pressure knowing that they were here to watch him.
“To take charge of an England team like he has, having just started Super League two years ago, I'm absolutely chuffed for him.”
While Coyd remains focused on the immediate demands of the tournament, he recognises how the growing talent pool is helping to drive standards:
“It's a bit hard to think about legacy right now because obviously, we're in the moment and taking it one day at a time.
“But you can absolutely see that group that started the game, we know their stories and a lot of those guys came into the sport having watched the World Cup Final in 2022.
“So, the talent pool is doing its thing and the pressure is driving the performance upwards.”
For now, attention turns to their final group stage game against Ireland. With a short turnaround between matches, England must balance celebrating their latest victory with recovery and preparation as they look to build on the progress made against USA:
“We haven't got much time to enjoy it. We're playing Ireland in 70 hours so the focus is on recovery while celebrating. And it's Tristan's [Norfolk] birthday today as well, so we celebrate that,” said Coyd.
“But the next job comes straight away so we need to get ready to play our best game in the tournament so far against a team who probably fancies themselves against us.”
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