Haynes helps guide England to victory
Sheffield Eagles Wheelchair player Chris Haynes marked his international debut for the England Wheelchair team yesterday as he crossed for two tries in their win against Spain.
Having helped the Eagles become the Championship Grand Final winners back in October, the 2024 Wheelchair Championship Player of the Year was handed his first international start on Thursday afternoon.
Haynes joined Wayne Boardman, Joe Coyd, Jack Heggie and Adam Rigby in the starting line-up, whilst fellow debutants Tristan Norfolk and Jason Owen started on the interchange bench alongside Nathan Holmes.
England got off to a great start as Heggie and Coyd both crossed for early tries, before Spain responded through captain Joel Lacombe.
Heggie and Coyd both went over again to score to put England further ahead, but three quick-fire tries from Spain saw them head into the break narrowly behind, with the score at 24-22.
Haynes got in on the action as his first try of the afternoon got the scoreboard back up and running early on in the second half, before fellow debutant Owen also went over for a score in the corner.
Heggie completed his hat-trick with about twenty minutes to go, before Spain pulled a try back on 68 minutes to leave the score at 40-28.
Victory was secured for England with three late tries as Coyd's third and fourth tries of the afternoon came before Haynes rounded off the win, with another score out wide to help secure them a 58-28 victory in Nantes.