ILKLEY Rugby Club are looking forward to potentially staging more internationals after they hosted the England v Wales deaf match last Saturday.

World champions Wales were beaten 27-11 as England secured the Broadstreet Cup for the first time since 2012.

"Apart from a problem with the anthems, the whole day went well," said Ilkley's head of rugby Rhys Morgan.

"There was a crowd of over 300, and many of them, including some locals, were coming to the ground for the first time.

"Hopefully they liked what they saw and will return to watch Ilkley.

"The bar was certainly rammed and both teams stayed on to watch the England v Wales Six Nations match on television afterwards.

"Maybe England Deaf, who hadn't beaten Wales for so long, will see Ilkley as a lucky ground and want to return."

Morgan added: "The standard was good and both teams tried to be expansive and throw the ball around, and there weren't many mistakes made.

"As far as the attendance goes, it tends to be one thing or the other - either two men and their dog or 2,000, but it was a fantastic day all round for everyone concerned, apart from the anthems."

In a tight first half, England scored the only try.

A powerful maul pushed the Welsh forwards back, and the ball was worked to Rob Shaw, who crossed the line to notch a try on his debut.

England only had a narrow 8-5 lead going into the break, and when Celyn Ashton slotted a long-range penalty for the Welsh early in the second half, the scores were level at 8-8.

With around 20 minutes to go, Wales looked as if they had the edge, but a sensational individual try from England's Henry Peuble, who broke through the opposition defence from halfway, changed the complexion of the contest.

Wales landed another penalty to bring the score within four, but Aaron Beasley and Cameron Roberts both crossed late on for England to give the scoreline a rather more emphatic look.

England have now beaten New Zealand and Wales this season, and their next challenge will be to put in a good performance at the first World Deaf Rugby Sevens tournament in Australia next month.