Wheelchair rugby league is a wheelchair-based version of rugby league football, one of two recognised disability versions of the sport. It was developed in France in 2000. Unlike other wheelchair sports, people without disabilities are allowed to compete in top-level competition.
History Wheelchair rugby league was developed by French rugby league players and coaches, Robert Fassolette and Wally Salvan, in 2000. The first competition was played by three teams, Vichy, Roanne and Beauvais, as part of a French Téléthon. Meetings establishing the official rules of the sport took place in 2002. The sport spread to the south of France with the establishment of teams from Perpignan, Cahors, and Montauban in 2004, and internationally after a tour by a French team to Australia and two exhibition matches played in England in 2005. In May 2006, the RLIF accepted a proposal by France to endorse wheelchair rugby league and a month later the first test match was played between France and a touring Great Britain team. The first international between England and France took place in 2007 and the following year the inaugural World Cup was held in Australia.
From its inception, until very recently, the top level of the sport was played no differently to other levels of the game. All matches took place in community sports halls, including international games, often with no-one in attendance. In 2013, the venue for the World Cup, Medway Park, had a crowd capacity of 500. Following France's win at that World Cup, a crowd of 2,700 was recorded for their next home match against England in 2014. In Australia, the attendance of 1,000 at the Wheelchair State of Origin match in 2019 was estimated to have been twice the size of the previous year. However, following the 2021 World Cup (played in 2022), where the competition was given equal prominence with the men's and women's game, the popularity of the sport, both during and after the tournament, exploded. Games of the 2021 tournament, and following matches, have since been played in major arenas in countries such as Australia, France, and the United Kingdom, often with several thousand in attendance. In the year following the 2021 World Cup, participation of the sport also rose by 71%.
In March 2024, wheelchair rugby league's first ever varsity fixture was played between Brunel University London and St Mary's University, Twickenham.
New Zealand made their international debut on 1 November 2024, marking the tenth nation to participate in the sport at international level.
Geography There are only ten countries with national wheelchair rugby league teams registered with the International Rugby League.
Rules The game shares many features with the regular rugby league:
Use of a size 4 rugby ball Ball may only be passed backwards Each team retains possession for six tackles, after which there is a hand-over A modified version of the play-the-ball is used after a tackle Same offside rules as rugby league The 2006 rulesThe 2006 rules
The game then sees its own particular rules:
Five players in each team All kicks – penalties, drop outs and conversions – are taken with the fist Matches are generally played on a handball court with dimensions of 40×20 metres Indoor rugby posts are put in place for conversions, drop kicks and penalty kicks In professional competition a maximum of two 'able bodied' players are allowed on the pitch per team
International competitions
World Cup
The inaugural Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup was held at indoor venues in Sydney, Australia in 2008.
The 2013 Wheelchair RL World Cup was held in Gillingham, England in July. It saw a tightly fought game with big collisions culminate in a victory for France.
The 2017 World Cup was held in the south of France in July. The holders, France, triumphed over a strong England side in another tightly fought contest.
The 2021 World Cup (played in 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic) took place in England with 8 teams, England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France, Spain, USA and Australia. For the USA this was to be their first major tournament. England defeated France 28–24 in the final in Manchester with an attendance of 4,526, the largest in the sport's history. Also, in a world first, all matches were broadcast by the BBC.
World Cup summaries YearHost nation(s)TeamsFinal resultWinnerScoreRunner-up2008Sydney, Australia4 England44–12 Australia2013Gillingham, England6 France42–40 England 2017France7 France38–34 England 2021England8 England28–24 France
European Championship
The Wheelchair Rugby League European Championship was first held in 2015 as a one off tournament. It is expected to occur every four years from 2023.
European Championship summaries YearHost nation(s)TeamsFinal resultWinnerScoreRunner-up2015Gillingham, England5 England28–24 France
Celtic Cup
The Celtic Cup has been held annually since 2015 and features the three Celtic nations of the British Isles – Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
Titles Ireland: 4 Scotland: 0 Wales: 7
Fassolette-Kielty Trophy
The Fassolette-Kielty Trophy is a challenge competition between England and France, and is played for during all non-tournament tests.
Titles England: 5 France: 7
The Ashes
The Ashes is a competition between Australia and England. It was first contested in 2019.
Titles Australia: 0 England: 2
Domestic competitions
ARL NRL Wheelchair Championship Wheelchair State Challenge
FFR Wheelchair Elite One Championship Wheelchair Elite Two Championship Coupe de France de Para Rugby XIII
RFL Wheelchair Super League Wheelchair Championship Wheelchair Challenge Cup Wheelchair Challenge Trophy
SRL Wheelchair Premiership
WRL Wheelchair Invitational League
Multi national European Club Challenge
List of Clubs
England and Wales The British domestic league is one of the more established in the world with teams from across the country taking part. They feature in the RFL Wheelchair Super League, Championship League and regional development leagues. Teams in Britain include:
Super League Bradford Bulls Edinburgh Giants Halifax Panthers Hull F.C. Leeds Rhinos London Roosters Sheffield Eagles Wigan Warriors
Championship Batley Bulldogs Castleford Tigers Gravesend Dynamite Midlands Hurricanes North Wales Crusaders Rochdale Hornets Wakefield Trinity York Knights
Wales Aber Valley Wolves Cardiff Blue Dragons North Wales Crusaders South Wales Jets
France As with the running variant of the sport, most of the French wheelchair rugby league teams are situated in the south of the country. A list of clubs include:
Elite 1 – Pool A Aingirak Euskadi SO Avignon Catalans Dragons Cavaillon Montauban Stade Toulousian Olympique
Elite 1 – Pool B Catalan Dragons 2 Saint Jory Stade Toulousian Toulon Provence Méditerranée (RFCTPM) Valencia – La Voulte Scotland Unlike the running game, the Scottish league is not integrated into the British rugby league system, however the teams have played in the all Great Britain Wheelchair Challenge Cup.
Dundee Dragons Edinburgh Giants Glasgow RL
See also IRL Wheelchair World Rankings Wheelchair sports Wheelchair rugby Wheelchair Australian rules football
Notes
References
External links RFL page on Wheelchair rugby league Boots'N'All feature on Wheelchair rugby league English Federation of Disabled Sport RL Festival of World Cups 2013