Sport in Britain is so often judged on various key metrics. Attendances, TV viewing figures, revenue and, arguably the most important one of all, trophies. On Friday morning, a group of men will represent England in a World Cup final, hoping to retain the trophy they won in 2022 while still playing for something far more important.

The captain of England’s rugby league wheelchair team, Lewis King, remembers what things used to be like as a wheelchair athlete. His life changed in 2009 when, aged 24, he was left partially paralysed after a blood clot on his spine that required an emergency operation. At that stage, playing sport felt impossible, let alone leading England in a World Cup final against France in Australia.

But only a few years later King was convinced to try wheelchair rugby league by a friend who he met while rehabbing in Stoke Mandeville hospital. To suggest it was low-key would be putting it mildly. “It started as a bit of fun and you’d only ever have a couple of family members watching; maybe a dog too if you were lucky,” King laughs. “But I fell in love very easily.”

King, like so many others, was captivated by the sport’s big selling point. “It is everything great about any version of rugby league, just in a wheelchair: it’s identical in so many ways,” he says. “The big hits, the line breaks, the incredible athleticism … I don’t know how you couldn’t be amazed when you see it for the first time.”

The public clearly agreed four years ago, when a TV audience of almost 2m and 5,000 in attendance in Manchester watched England lift the World Cup on home soil. Despite the tournament being behind a paywall in the UK this autumn, the BBC will televise Friday morning’s repeat showdown with France, offering more crucial exposure.

It is a sport on the rise. It is the most popular wheelchair sport in England by some distance, and since the last World Cup triumph in 2022, participation has risen by 110%. Four years ago there wereonly 19 teams playing in formal leagues; there are now 42, and rising.

Clubs such as Leeds Rhinos, Wigan Warriors and the new men’s Super League champions, Wakefield Trinity, do not just have wheelchair teams, they have girls and juniors teams too, offering specific pathways into sport for anyone of any age that may not be able to play the running version of rugby league for whatever reason.

But as well as winning, King and England’s players are aware their stories inspire a new generation of young men and women. Rob Hawkins, the best player in the world who won the Golden Boot for the third successive year this week, lives with chronic fatigue syndrome and had previously been bedridden for 18 months.

Luis Domingos, who played professional wheelchair basketball before switching to rugby league, contracted polio as a child. No one sums up this story quite like Halifax’s Finlay O’Neill though; diagnosed with hyper-mobility in his knees and forced to give up able-bodied rugby league, O’Neill was inspired by England’s win four years ago.

He is now part of the 2026 squad and the reason why England’s players are performing for something bigger – the vehicle to help rebuild lives after trauma. “We speak about that regularly,” King admits. “Finlay was watching us at the last World Cup and now he’s scoring tries and playing in a final himself four years later.

“There is a pathway for anyone, and we want to show people trauma in life doesn’t mean you can’t play and enjoy sport. We had some young players present our shirts before we came to Australia. That’s the win for us: seeing the next generation want to do it because of us.”

The game itself has plenty of promise. England and France are the world’s two best teams and the final four years ago was won by just four points. Both teams expect a similar scoreline in Wollongong, when another big crowd will be watching. “I would have liked to have played Australia in the final, with it being over there,” King says. However, England dismantled Australia in the semis on Tuesday, meaning it is a rematch with the French.

If you happen to be free on Friday morning, switch the final on and watch England’s stars in action. At the very least, you will find yourself in awe of their ability in the midst of their inspiring back stories. In reality, you might actually find you’ve just stumbled across your favourite other sport: and one England are actually pretty good at too.