World Cup finalists England still feel short of best

Rob Hawkins laughed when asked by BBC Sport whether he had been practising his dives.The question was prompted by some spectacular athleticism as he scored five tries to help England crush Australia 86-18 in Tuesday's Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup semi-final in Wollongong, Australia."It's just off-the-cuff stuff when needed," he said. "Some of the kicks were cautious!"The man who had provided many of those kicks, Nathan Collins, was sitting beside him. He did not disagree."He makes my bad kicks look good!" Collins said. "It is great to have him there to sweep up. He's great to play with and against."England have reason to be in good spirits as they prepare for a fifth successive World Cup final, the fourth in a row against great rivals France.They are looking to defend the title they won on home ground four years ago, a narrow 28-24 victory in Manchester.All of the three previous finals between the two teams have been tight: France won 42-40 in Gillingham in 2013, and 38-34 in Perpignan in 2017.England seemed to set themselves up perfectly for Friday's final, scoring 15 tries against Australia. Hawkins' five scores, plus five conversions, took his personal points tally to 30 points.His best try, and the standout from the whole game, was the third one - a long-range punt from England seemed to be a shot to nothing, but not where Hawkins was concerned.He chased it down and, millimetres away from the dead-ball line, managed to grab the ball and get it down under huge pressure from Adam Tannock, who he had outpaced.Yet Hawkins thought his and England's performances were far from perfect."Wouldn't say we are 10 out of 10 yet, there are still good a good few things to look at," he said. "Today was a six or seven. Hopefully the best is to come on Friday."Today was satisfying but not easy. We had the crowd to fight and a ruthless Australian team. But we are happy with the result."England will now reset for their latest showdown with France, which will kick off at 08:45 GMT on Friday at WIN Entertainment Centre.Collins said England will need to repeat their dominant performance against Australia, and more, to beat the only other nation ever to win the world title."We've got to do what we did today, stick to the process Tom [Coyd, the England coach] has put in front of us," he said. "It looks like a good game, but there is still plenty to do."We are used to big games, league titles and Challenge Cups. This is a step up from that, so we go again."Like many of the squad, Collins has had to overcome huge off-field challenges to get in a position to face the major challenges on the pitch.Born with dwarfism, he played running rugby league as a child before being told he was too small. So, Collins moved into the wheelchair sport and made his England debut aged 16.Now 26, he is a veteran of the team preparing for his third World Cup final, having won one, lost one."It has given me a lease of life," Collins said of his life in rugby league. "I have met so many amazing people along the way."At 16 I was straight in at the deep end, I couldn't think about it, just had to do it. Not many people get those chances at 16. I have grown with the game, I feel like I have gone on the level up with it."I'm proud of what we have achieved, on and off the pitch. It would mean a lot to bring that trophy home again."Looking in the corner of the stadium and seeing the wall of white [shirted England fans], it was amazing, hopefully we will see that again on Friday."England will hope it is only the French players they have to deal with in the final, after bizarre scenes involving an official in 2022.French referee Laurent Abrial, who officiated the 2022 World Cup final, was suspended until January this year after he "brought the game into disrepute through unacceptable behaviour".An International Rugby League misconduct committee found Abrial made "obscene gestures that could have incited the crowd".Abrial was the defence referee during the final and in the closing stages protested by gesticulating wildly after having a decision overruled by attack referee Ollie Cruickshank."The referees will make a decision on the day, we are just there to play the game," said Hawkins. "Our win overshadowed the decisions made. The officiating at this World Cup has been superb."