The Ireland national wheelchair rugby league team represents Ireland in wheelchair rugby league. They have competed at the World Cup, the European Championships, the Celtic Cup and Four Nations competitions.
History In July 2012 Ireland took part their first international competition, the Four Nations, a round-robin tournament between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The tournament was held as part of preparations for the world cup taking place the following year. At the 2013 World Cup Ireland lost their matches against Wales and England. A win against Scotland was not enough to progress to the semi-finals, but they defeated Scotland in a play-off to take fifth place. Ireland finished second at the 2014 Four Nations. In 2015 Ireland played Scotland in the first Celtic Cup which was contested over two matches but became an annual three-team round-robin with the addition of Wales in 2016. At the 2015 European Championships their only group stage win was against Wales, but with a play-off win over Scotland they took third place in the tournament. In 2016 Ireland were unable to travel with a full team for the Four Nations so their place was filled by a mixed team of Irish, Welsh and English players known as the Exiles. At the 2021 World Cup Ireland were not initially selected to take part but were brought in to replace Norway who had withdrawn from the tournament. Ireland were knocked out at the group stage after losses to Spain and Australia before suffering a record defeat (0–121) in their final match against England. In June 2024, the Celtic Cup was played in Galway. This was the first time the tournament had been played in Ireland and it was won by the hosts who won both of their matches. In 2025, Ireland retained the Celtic Cup and set a new record for their largest win with a 92–20 victory over Scotland.
Squad
Competitive record World Cup World Cup RecordYearFinish 2008 20135th 2017 2021Group stage
Celtic Cup
Results
DateScoreOpponentCompetitionRef.7 July 201212–342012 Four Nations7 July 20124–448 July 201214–83 July 20132013 World Cup Group stage6 July 20136–369 July 201326–613 July 201336–142013 World Cup 5th place play-off13 September 201458–102014 Four Nations14 September 20142–5414 September 201460–1018 April 201552–282015 Celtic Cup25 May 201580–489 August 201546–29International24 September 201516–322015 European Championship24 September 20158–10025 September 201516–6626 September 201546–3626 September 201520–162015 European Championship 3rd place play-off30 April 201626–762016 Celtic Cup30 April 201658–5829 April 201726–162017 Celtic Cup29 April 20176–5128 April 201868–362018 Celtic Cup28 April 201830–8427 April 20198–1092019 Celtic Cup27 April 201942–5212 June 202152–322021 Celtic Cup12 June 202116–9616 October 202148–62International7 May 202222–642022 Celtic Cup7 May 202238–3518 June 202252–22International8 October 202252–67International3 November 202232–552021 World Cup Group stage6 November 202218–769 November 20220–12118 June 202358–242023 Celtic Cup18 June 202330–308 June 202468–342024 Celtic Cup8 June 202468–3221 November 202420–62International24 May 202592–202025 Celtic Cup24 May 202566–1018 October 202558–6International23 May 202670–402026 Celtic Cup23 May 202650–3811 July 202616–106International12 July 202636–66International
Upcoming fixtures 2026 World Cup – 30 October–13 November, WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong
Knockout stage
Records and rankings
+ Ireland historical IRL Wheelchair World Rankings Jun2020 Dec2021 Jun2022 Dec2022 Jun2023 Dec2023 Jun2024 Dec2024 Jun2025 Nov2025 Aug2026Ranking (1) (2) (1) (1) (1) References Biggest win: 92–20 v. Scotland (24 May 2025) Biggest defeat: 0–121 v. England (9 November 2022)
Honours Celtic Cup (4): 2015, 2024, 2025, 2026
Notes
References