England national wheelchair rugby league team

England
Team information
Governing bodyRugby Football League
RegionEurope
IRL ranking 1 Steady (30 June 2024)[1]
Team results
World Cup
Appearances4 (first time in 2008)
Best resultWinners (2008, 2021)

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[2] and the 2021 edition on home soil,[3] and being runners up in both 2013 and 2017.[4][5] They also won the 2015 European Rugby League Championship.[6]

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.[7] 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.[8][9]

The team are sponsored by Betfred in a two-year deal signed in 2022 that included the wheelchair, men's and women's teams.[10] They train at facilities including Calderdale College in Halifax[11] and St George's Park National Football Centre.[12]

  1. ^ "IRL World Rankings: Wheelchair". International Rugby League. 30 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  2. ^ "Sculthorpe backs England wheelchair team". LoveRugbyLeague. 12 October 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup final: Tom Halliwell late try secures trophy for England". BBC. 18 November 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  4. ^ "2013 Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup – Wales Rugby League (WRL)". Wales Rugby League. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  5. ^ "2017 Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup – Wales Rugby League (WRL)". Wales Rugby League. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Match Report: European Wheelchair Championship Final". European Rugby League. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  7. ^ "Major stages and big events". Rugby XIII Fauteuil. Archived from the original on 13 November 2008.
  8. ^ "Bradford Bulls Wheelchair Rugby". Bradford Bulls Foundation. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference RL29307 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "England rugby league strikes Betfred deal". www.sportindustry.biz. 16 June 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  11. ^ Bower, Aaron (2 November 2022). "'It left me in awe': my hands-on initiation to wheelchair rugby league". the Guardian. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  12. ^ Association, The Football. "England Wheelchair Rugby League Visit St. George's Park". www.thefa.com. Retrieved 7 March 2024.