England national wheelchair rugby league team explained

England
Badge Size:	150px
Governing Body:	Rugby Football League
Region:	Europe
Rlif Rank:	1
World Cup Apps:	4
World Cup First:	2008
World Cup Best:	Winners (2008, 2021)
Form:	Wheelchair

The England national wheelchair rugby league team represents England in wheelchair rugby league. The team have played in all four World Cup tournaments, winning both the inaugural competition in 2008^[1] and the 2021 edition on home soil,^[2] and being runners up in both 2013 and 2017.^{[3] [4]} They also won the 2015 European Wheelchair Rugby League Championship.^[5]

Wheelchair rugby league was introduced to England in July 2005 when a team from France toured Yorkshire. On 4 May 2006, the Rugby League International Federation accepted a proposal by France to endorse wheelchair rugby league. Later that month a team representing Great Britain began a tour of France and played the first official test match on 3 June 2006 losing 20–6 to their hosts.^[6] The England team was established in 2007 under the auspices of the British Wheelchair Tag Rugby League Association and played its first test match, against France the same year.^[7]

The team are sponsored by Betfred in a two-year deal signed in 2022 that included the wheelchair, men's and women's teams.^[8] They train at facilities including Calderdale College in Halifax^[9] and St George's Park National Football Centre.^[10]

Current squad

Squad selected for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup (played in 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).^[11]

• Tom Coyd (Coach)
• Sebastien Bechara (Catalans Dragons)
• Jack Brown (Halifax Panthers)
• Wayne Boardman (Halifax Panthers)
• Nathan Collins (Leeds Rhinos)
• Joe Coyd (London Roosters)
• Rob Hawkins (Halifax Panthers)
• Tom Halliwell (Leeds Rhinos)
• Lewis King (London Roosters)
• Adam Rigby (Wigan Warriors)
• Declan Roberts (Wigan Warriors)
• James Simpson (Leeds Rhinos)

Competitive record

World Cup Record
Year	Finish
2008
2013
2017
2021

Results

Date	Opponent	Score	Competition	Venue	Attendance	Ref.
2007	France		Friendly	Harrow, London		^[12]
7 November 2008		34–26	2008 Rugby League World Cup Group Stage^[13]	Sydney Academy of Sport, Narrabeen		^[14] ^[15]
10 November 2008	Barbarians	72–4		Mount Druitt, Sydney		^[16]
12 November 2008	France	26–18		Sydney Academy of Sport, Narrabeen		^[17] ^[18]
14 November 2008	Barbarians	66–0	2008 Rugby League World Cup Semi Final	Whitlam Centre, Sydney		^[19]
17 November 2008		44–12	2008 Rugby League World Cup Final	Betts Stadium, Sydney		^[20] ^[21]
28 August 2009	France	36–38	Friendly	Brunel University, London		^[22]
16 October 2010	France	34–44	Friendly	Cahors	1,060	^[23]
8 October 2011	France	34–32	Friendly	Leigh Sports Village, Leigh		^[24]
7 July 2012		34–12	2012 Four Nations^[25]	Hull		^[26]
8 July 2012		50–0				^[27]
8 July 2012		34–0				^[28] ^[29]
27 August 2012	France	22–43	Friendly: Fassolette-Kielty Trophy	Medway Park, Gillingham	700	^[30] ^[31]
3 July 2013	France	20–28	2013 Rugby League World Cup Group Stage	Medway Park, Gillingham		^[32] ^[33]
6 July 2013		86–8				^[34]
9 July 2013		50–6				^[35]
11 July 2013		81–10	2013 Rugby League World Cup Semi Final			^[36]
13 July 2013	France	40–42	2013 Rugby League World Cup Final			^[37]
9 May 2014	France	46–64	Friendly: Fassolette-Kielty Trophy	Kindarena, Rouen	2,700	^[38] ^[39]
13 September 2014		104–14	2014 Four Nations^[40]	Medway Park, Gillingham		^[41]
September 2014		54–2
14 September 2014		80–6				^[42]
23 September 2015	France	56–26	Friendly: Fassolette-Kielty Trophy	Medway Park, Gillingham		^[43]
24 September 2015	France	24–26	2015 Rugby League European Championship Group Stage	Medway Park, Gillingham		^[44]
25 September 2015	Wales	56–8				^[45]
25 September 2015		66–16				^[46]
25 September 2015		102–0				^[47]
26 September 2015	France	28–24	2015 Rugby League European Championship Final
24 September 2016		90–10	2016 Four Nations^[48]	Mayfield Sports Centre, Rochdale		^[49]
24 September 2016	Exiles	94–0
25 September 2016		56–14				^[50]
25 September 2016		52–26				^[51]
20 July 2017	France	31–71	2017 Rugby League World Cup Group Stage	Halle aux Sport, Carcassonne
22 July 2017		78–32		Complexe La Rijole, Pamiers
24 July 2017		80–26		Gymnase du Lac, Saint-Jory
26 July 2017		76–24	2017 Rugby League World Cup Semi Final	Gymnase Compans Cafferlli, Toulouse
28 July 2017	France	34–38	2017 Rugby League World Cup Final	Parc des Expositions, Perpignan
21 June 2019	France	31–25	Two match series friendly: Fassolette-Kielty Trophy	Gymnase M. Guigou, Apt		^[52] ^[53]
23 June 2019	France	46–50		Palais des Sports de Toulon		^[54]
28 September 2019		48–24	2019 Tri-Nations^[55]	Plas Madoc Leisure Centre, Wrexham		^[56]
28 September 2019		136–1				^[57]
29 September 2019		54–40				^[58]
21 October 2019		84–28	Ashes Test series	Whitlam Leisure Centre, Sydney		^[59] ^[60]
23 October 2019		58–50		University of Wollongong, Wollongong
26 June 2021		102–22	Friendly	English Institute of Sport, Sheffield		^[61]
10 November 2021	France	24–49	Two match series friendly: Fassolette-Kielty Trophy^[62]	Medway Park, Gillingham		^[63]
13 November 2021	France	26–39				^[64]
19 June 2022	France	62–48	Friendly: Fassolette-Kielty Trophy	National Basketball Centre, Manchester		^[65]
3 November 2022		38–8	2021 Rugby League World Cup Group Stage	Copper Box, London	3,033	^[66]
6 November 2022	Spain	104–12			3,268	^[67]
9 November 2022		121–0			3,847	^[68]
13 November 2022		125–22	2021 Rugby League World Cup Semi Final	English Institute of Sport, Sheffield	1,318	^[69]
18 November 2022	France	28–24	2021 Rugby League World Cup final	Manchester Central, Manchester	4,526	^[70]
5 November 2023	France	34–43	Two match series friendly: Fassolette-Kielty Trophy	Leeds Arena, Leeds	2,373	^[71]
25 November 2023	France	34–18		Palais des Sports, Marseille		^[72]

Upcoming Fixtures

• France at Robin Park Arena, Wigan on Saturday, 26 October 2024.^[73]
  • Kick-off scheduled for 14:30PM BST (UTC+1:00)

Records and statistics

The team has only ever lost to France, the originators of the wheelchair game. England's biggest defeat was 31–71 on 20 July 2017.

England's biggest win was 136–1 over Scotland on 28 September 2019; their biggest win without conceding was 121–0 over Ireland on 9 November 2022.

Honours

• World Cup (2): (2008, 2021)
• European Championship (1): (2015)
• Four/Tri Nations (4): (2012, 2014, 2016, 2019)
• Fassolette-Kielty Trophy

4 Titles

See also

• Rugby league in England
• England men's national rugby league team
• England women's national rugby league team
• Fassolette-Kielty Trophy
• Rugby Football League
• British Rugby League Hall of Fame

Notes and References

1. News: Sculthorpe backs England wheelchair team . 11 August 2022 . LoveRugbyLeague . 12 October 2010.
2. News: Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup final: Tom Halliwell late try secures trophy for England . 18 November 2022 . BBC . 18 November 2022.
3. Web site: 2013 Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup – Wales Rugby League (WRL) . Wales Rugby League . 11 August 2022.
4. Web site: 2017 Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup – Wales Rugby League (WRL) . Wales Rugby League . 11 August 2022.
5. Web site: Match Report: European Wheelchair Championship Final . European Rugby League . 3 November 2022.
6. Web site: Major stages and big events . Rugby XIII Fauteuil . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081113052854/http://www.rugby13fauteuil.fr/en/historique.htm . 13 November 2008.
7. Web site: Bradford Bulls Wheelchair Rugby . Bradford Bulls Foundation . 11 August 2022.
8. Web site: England rugby league strikes Betfred deal . www.sportindustry.biz . 11 August 2022 . 16 June 2022.
9. Web site: 2022-11-02. 'It left me in awe': my hands-on initiation to wheelchair rugby league. Aaron. Bower. 2022-11-06. the Guardian.
10. Web site: Association . The Football . England Wheelchair Rugby League Visit St. George’s Park . 2024-03-07 . www.thefa.com . en.
11. Web site: Rugby League World Cup 2021: Official wheelchair squads . nrl.com . 3 October 2022 . 17 October 2022.
12. Web site: Rugby League pioneers recognised in New Year’s Honours . Rugby Football League . 31 December 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140209160845/http://therfl.co.uk/news/article/29307/rugby-league-pioneers-recognised-in . 9 February 2014.
13. Web site: England Wheelchair team win World Cup . England Rugby League . https://web.archive.org/web/20081227200338/http://englandrl.co.uk/englandrl.php?id=523 . 27 December 2008.
14. Web site: Wheelchair Rugby League tournament . 9 November 2008 . usurped. https://web.archive.org/web/20081112101736/http://www.rlwc08.com/news/news/archive/2008/11/09/wheelchair-rugby-league-tournament.aspx . 12 November 2008.
15. Web site: England Wheelchair team beat Australia in World Cup. 7 November 2008 . RLEF . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091228101806/http://www.rlef.eu.com/news.php?id=955 . 28 December 2009.
16. Web site: England Wheelchair Rugby League win second World Cup match. 10 November 2008 . RLEF . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091228102724/http://www.rlef.eu.com/news.php?id=965 . 28 December 2009.
17. Web site: England Wheelchair Tag RL squad named . Rugby Football League . 3 August 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120512015858/http://therfl.co.uk/news/article/14895 . 12 May 2012.
18. Web site: England Wheelchair team reach World Cup Final . 12 November 2008 . RLEF . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091228102423/http://www.rlef.eu.com/news.php?id=970 . 28 December 2009.
19. Web site: England Wheelchair team reach World Cup Final . 14 November 2008 . RLEF . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091228102817/http://www.rlef.eu.com/news.php?id=974 . 28 December 2009.
20. Web site: Story of the 2008 World Cup. RLWC2001. 13 October 2022. 4 November 2022.
21. Web site: England Wheelchair Rugby League win the World Cup. 17 November 2008. 5 November 2022. Sport Focus. https://web.archive.org/web/20221017185508/http://www.sportfocus.com/newspub/story.cfm?ID=31164. 17 October 2022.
22. Web site: RFL Annual Report 2009 . 15 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101128204936/http://therfl.co.uk/~rflmedia/docs/RFL%202009%20Annual%20Report.pdf . 28 November 2010.
23. Web site: France 44–34 England . European Rugby League . 5 November 2022.
24. Web site: England 34–32 France . European Rugby League . 5 November 2022.
25. Web site: Wheelchair Fixtures: 2012 . Wales Rugby League . 5 November 2022.
26. Web site: Ireland 12–34 England . European Rugby League . 5 November 2022.
27. Web site: England 50–0 Scotland . European Rugby League . 5 November 2022.
28. Web site: England 34–0 Wales . European Rugby League . 5 November 2022.
29. Web site: ENG Wheelchair 34v0 WAL Wheelchair . Wales Rugby League . 5 November 2022.
30. Web site: Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup draw is made . Rugby Football League . 23 April 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130501005443/http://therfl.co.uk/news/article/27569/wheelchair-rugby-league-world-cup . 1 May 2013.
31. Web site: International Rugby League Came to Medway . Medway Dragons . 3 September 2012 . 4 April 2024.
32. Web site: Wheelchair World Cup . rugbyleague.wales . 17 October 2022.
33. Web site: England 20–28 France . European Rugby League . 25 November 2023.
34. Web site: England 86–8 Ireland . European Rugby League . 25 November 2023.
35. Web site: Wales 6–50 England . European Rugby League . 25 November 2023.
36. Web site: England 81–10 Australia . European Rugby League . 25 November 2023.
37. Web site: Match Report: Wheelchair World Cup final . European Rugby League . 4 November 2022.
38. Web site: France 64–46 England . European Rugby League . 5 November 2022.
39. Web site: Pari réussi pour l'Equipe de France XIII Fauteuil . fr . FFRXIII . 15 May 2014 . 21 March 2024.
40. Web site: Wheelchair Fixtures: 2014 . Wales Rugby League . 5 November 2022.
41. Web site: ENG Wheelchair 104v14 SCOT Wheelchair . Scotland Rugby League . 5 November 2022.
42. Web site: ENG Wheelchair 80–6 WAL Wheelchair . Wales Rugby League . 5 November 2022.
43. Web site: England 56–26 France . European Rugby League . 5 November 2022.
44. Web site: England 24–26 France . European Rugby League . 5 November 2022.
45. Web site: England 56–8 Wales . European Rugby League . 5 November 2022.
46. Web site: Ireland 16–66 England . European Rugby League . 5 November 2022.
47. Web site: Scotland 0–102 England . European Rugby League . 5 November 2022.
48. Web site: Wheelchair Fixtures: 2016 . Wales Rugby League . 5 November 2022.
49. Web site: England claim Wheelchair 4 Nations title . Scotland Rugby League . 27 September 2016 . 5 November 2022.
50. Web site: ENG Wheelchair 56–14 WAL Wheelchair . Wales Rugby League . 5 November 2022.
51. Web site: ENG Wheelchair 52–26 WAL Wheelchair . Wales Rugby League . 5 November 2022.
52. Web site: England 31–25 France . European Rugby League . 4 November 2022.
53. Web site: L'équipe de France Rugby XIII Fauteuil face à l'Angleterre ce soir! La feuille de match! . fr . FFRXIII . 21 June 2019 . 9 April 2024.
54. Web site: France 50–46 England . European Rugby League . 4 November 2022.
55. Web site: Wheelchair Fixtures: 2019 . Wales Rugby League . 5 November 2022.
56. Web site: WAL Wheelchair 24–48 ENG Wheelchair . Wales Rugby League . 5 November 2022.
57. Web site: ENG Wheelchair 136v1 SCOT Wheelchair . Scotland Rugby League . 5 November 2022.
58. Web site: WAL Wheelchair 40–54 ENG Wheelchair . Wales Rugby League . 5 November 2022.
59. Web site: Wheelaroos ready to rock Wollongong . Dragons.com.au . 22 October 2019 . 8 March 2024.
60. Web site: England Wheelchair win Ashes series against Australia . Asia Pacific Rugby League . 24 October 2019 . 8 March 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191026002335/https://asiapacificrl.com/2019/10/24/england-wheelchair-win-ashes-series-against-australia/ . 26 October 2019.
61. Web site: England 102–22 Wales . European Rugby League . 4 November 2022.
62. Web site: England's wheelchair rugby league team seek to right wrongs against France in Sunday's international . Sky Sports . 18 June 2022 . 5 November 2022.
63. Web site: England 24–49 France . European Rugby League . 4 November 2022.
64. Web site: England 26–39 France . European Rugby League . 4 November 2022.
65. Web site: England 62–48 France . European Rugby League . 3 November 2022.
66. Web site: England 38–8 Australia . European Rugby League . 3 November 2022.
67. Web site: England Wheelchair 104-12 Spain Wheelchair . RLWC2021 . 6 November 2022.
68. Web site: England Wheelchair 121-0 Ireland Wheelchair . RLWC2021 . 6 November 2022.
69. Web site: England Wheelchair 125–22 Wales Wheelchair. RLWC2021 . 13 November 2022 . 13 November 2022.
70. Web site: England beat France to win Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup - reaction . 2022-11-18 . BBC Sport . en-GB.
71. News: World champions England defeated by France . en-GB . BBC Sport . 2023-11-13.
72. Web site: France 18–34 England . European Rugby League . 4 December 2023.
73. Web site: England women & wheelchair teams to host in autumn . BBC Sport . 2 August 2024 . 2 August 2024.