Tag: rugby-league

Coming to York this Sunday – Wheelchair Rugby League and ‘The Future of England’


One of the most eye-catching and awe-inspiring sports on the planet takes centre stage at York Sport Centre this Sunday (26 May). England Wheelchair Rugby League presents ‘The Future of England’, with the best of the nation’
emerging talent set to face off at The Arena, York Sport Centre, on Sunday afternoon (KO 2.45pm).

It’s the highlight of an action-packed event for all the family, which also includes a free-to-enter Youth Wheelchair RL festival at 10am, and a main event curtain-raiser between York RLFC and Bradford Bulls at 12.45pm.
England Wheelchair Rugby League Head Coach, Tom Coyd, is in the process of unearthing the next generation of talent to take on the world and has selected the following teams.

Green Team
 Adam Rigby, Wigan Warriors
 Chris Haynes, Sheffield Eagles
 Freya Levy, London Roosters
 Jason Owen, London Roosters
 Keiron Johnson, Halifax Panthers
 Nathan Holmes, Halifax Panthers
 Ted Fields, Woodlands Warrios
 Tristan Norfolk, Hull FC

Yellow Team
 Ewan Clibbens, Leeds Rhinos
 Jack Heggie, Wigan Warriors
 Josh Edwards, Hull FC
 Martin Lane, Wigan Warriors
 Mason Billington, London Roosters
 Nathaniel Wright, Halifax Panthers
 Stephen Reilly, Sheffield Eagles
 Tom Martin, Halifax Panthers

Tom Coyd says:
“We’ve run a number of development sessions for England’s emerging talent – now it’s time for the players chosen to exhibit what they’ve learned and to showcase their undoubted talent with National Performance Squad places up for grabs.

“I want to give these guys a chance to play in a fantastic facility, with plenty of people watching, to see how they perform at the next level, under scrutiny and in pressure situations when judgement is everything. Because that’s what elite sport is.

“And there’s more to the day than England Wheelchair. Players aged 15 and under have been invited to take part in the morning’s youth festival and York will be taking on the Bradford Bulls in a curtain- raiser, so there’s plenty for all the family to enjoy.”

Tickets for this Bank Holiday Weekend bonanza are available online now, priced from just £3 (concessions) and £5 (adults) at tickettailor.com/events/yorksport1.

There is free admission for carers attending with a person with additional needs.

2024 Season Dates & Preview

Halifax Panthers Rugby League wheelchair team, kick off their season with a home game against their fierce rivals the Leeds Rhinos, on 16th June 2024. followed by.

London away 30th June

Hull 14th July 2024

Wigan away weekend of 20th/21st July

Leeds away 10th August 2024

London 18th August 2024

Hull away weekend of 31st Aug/1st sept

Wigan 15th Sept 2024

All home games are played at Sedbergh Sports centre Odsal Bradford, with 2 games being played on the same day, the Super league team and the reserve team playing. KO 12pm and 3pm. Wheelchair rugby is the most inclusive sport, with women and men, young and old, disabled and non-disabled players playing together.”

Halifax Panthers Wheelchair Rugby League Club is an integral part of the Halifax Rugby League family. As well as being one of wheelchair sport’s most successful teams, the club also has close links with the community in Calderdale.

For the first team, the last ten years have seen a number of successes, including a league championship, three wins in Grand Finals, three Challenge Cup victories and a European Championship. Twice they have done the Grand-final, Challenge Cup double.

Halifax Panthers Wheelchair Rugby League Club’s roots go back to 2005, when the club was set up. With strong ties to the Calderdale Community Coaching Trust (CCCT), as well as its first team responsibilities, the club acts as an inspirational vehicle for disability sport and disability awareness in the area.

Women’s Wheelchair Rugby League Festival

Sheffield Eagles will partner the Rugby Football League in hosting the first Women’s Wheelchair Rugby League Festival on Saturday 11th May.

The event will take place at Concord Leisure Centre in Sheffield, 1pm to 3pm, arrivals from 12.30pm.

The first hour of the event will see England Head Coach Tom Coyd MBE lead a carousel of coaching stations before the second hour will see game play opportunities for all taking part.

The event is free and is open to both women who would like to try Wheelchair Rugby League for the first time or who already have experience.

“Ahead of the 2023 Betfred Challenge Cup Final we hosted a small women’s only Wheelchair Rugby League taster event” explained Martin Coyd OBE, England Wheelchair RL General Manager. “The interest was huge and whilst plenty of the women taking part said they loved playing in the mixed environment with men, they also said that they liked their own space and we should look at staging more women’s only events. The event on 11th May is in response to that – it will be the first of some new and exciting women’s only activity which we plan will take place at all levels of the pathway.”

To sign up, simply email jack.pemberton@eaglesfoundation.co.uk and provide your name, email, a mobile number and whether or not you will be brining your own sports wheelchair no later than Thursday 9th May. Further details will be sent to you in due course.