Australia and France made emphatic starts to the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup on Saturday, with the Wheelaroos beating trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand 102-14 and France thrashing Scotland 114-0 in Pool B at the WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong. Both winners led comfortably at half-time and never looked in danger of letting their advantage slip.

Australia captain Bayley McKenna was the star of the Trans-Tasman contest, scoring 44 points in a player-of-the-match display. He finished as his side's top try scorer with four tries and landed 14 goals from 15 attempts. A kick-through tactic involving McKenna and Diab Karim proved especially effective, producing four of Australia's eight first-half tries on the way to a 48-10 lead at the break.

France lay down a marker

France, runners-up to England in the 2022 final, were just as dominant against Scotland. They led 62-0 at half-time after scoring 20 tries in all, and had already passed the 80 points they scored against the Scots in their pool game at the last World Cup with half an hour still to play. Centre Jeremy Bourson was named player of the match after scoring seven tries and kicking two goals.

The scale of France's win underlined their intent to go one better than four years ago. They are two-time winners of the tournament and, on this evidence, will take some stopping. Scotland, meanwhile, suffered a heavy defeat to open their campaign and will need a rapid response when they face Australia next.

Round two takes place on Tuesday, when France meet newcomers New Zealand and Australia take on Scotland. England are the defending champions after beating France 28-24 in the 2021 final, so the early statement wins from Australia and France set up an intriguing race for the title over the coming fortnight.