# Ireland national wheelchair rugby league team

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 At the 2021 World Cup Ireland were not initially selected to take part but were brought in to replace Norway who had withdrawn from the tournament.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.

## Squad

Squad selected for 21 November 2024 fixture against France.
* Cian Horgan (Munster)
* James McCarthy (Munster)
* Maurice Noonan (Munster)
* Joseph Calcott (Halifax)
* Matt Wooloff (Wigan)
* Phil Roberts (Wigan)
* Toby Burton Carter (Wigan)
* Melanie Griffith (Leinster)
* Oran Spain (Leinster)
* Peter Johnston (Argonauts)

## Competitive record
### World Cup

World Cup Record :
| Year | Finish |
| 2008 | Did not enter |
| 2013 | 5th |
| 2017 | Did not enter |
| 2021 | Group stage |

### Celtic Cup

Celtic Cup results by year:  Ireland :
| Opponent \ Year | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Scotland | W-W | D | W | W | L | – | W | W | W | W |
| Wales | x | L | L | L | L | – | L | L | D | W |
| Finish: | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | – | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
* 2015: Wales did not take part – Ireland and Scotland played each other twice
* 2020: The tournament was cancelled in 2020

### Results

| Date | Opponent | Score | Competition |
| 7 July 2012 | England | 12–34 | 2012 Four Nations |
| 7 July 2012 | Wales | 4–44 | 2012 Four Nations |
| 8 July 2012 | Scotland | 14–8 | 2012 Four Nations |
| 3 July 2013 | Wales | 6–104 | 2013 World Cup Group stage |
| 6 July 2013 | England | 6–36 | 2013 World Cup Group stage |
| 9 July 2013 | Scotland | 26–6 | 2013 World Cup Group stage |
| 13 July 2013 | Australia | 36–14 | 2013 World Cup 5th place play-off |
| 13 September 2014 | Wales | 58–10 | 2014 Four Nations |
| 14 September 2014 | England | 2–54 | 2014 Four Nations |
| 14 September 2014 | Scotland | 60–10 | 2014 Four Nations |
| 18 April 2015 | Scotland | 52–28 | 2015 Celtic Cup |
| 25 May 2015 | Scotland | 80–48 | 2015 Celtic Cup |
| 9 August 2015 | Wales | 46–29 | Friendly |
| 24 September 2015 | Scotland | 16–32 | 2015 European Championship |
| 24 September 2015 | France | 8–100 | 2015 European Championship |
| 25 September 2015 | England | 16–66 | 2015 European Championship |
| 26 September 2015 | Wales | 46–36 | 2015 European Championship |
| 26 September 2015 | Scotland | 20–16 | 2015 European Championship 3rd place play-off |
| 30 April 2016 | Wales | 26–76 | 2016 Celtic Cup |
| 30 April 2016 | Scotland | 58–58 | 2016 Celtic Cup |
| 29 April 2017 | Scotland | 26–16 | 2017 Celtic Cup |
| 29 April 2017 | Wales | 6–51 | 2017 Celtic Cup |
| 28 April 2018 | Scotland | 68–36 | 2018 Celtic Cup |
| 28 April 2018 | Wales | 30–84 | 2018 Celtic Cup |
| 27 April 2019 | Wales | 8–109 | 2019 Celtic Cup |
| 27 April 2019 | Scotland | 42–52 | 2019 Celtic Cup |
| 12 June 2021 | Scotland | 52–32 | 2021 Celtic Cup |
| 12 June 2021 | Wales | 16–96 | 2021 Celtic Cup |
| 16 October 2021 | Wales | 48–62 | Friendly |
| 7 May 2022 | Wales | 22–64 | 2022 Celtic Cup |
| 7 May 2022 | Scotland | 38–35 | 2022 Celtic Cup |
| 18 June 2022 | Scotland | 52–22 | Friendly |
| 8 October 2022 | Wales | 52–67 | Friendly |
| 3 November 2022 | Spain | 32–55 | 2021 World Cup Group stage |
| 6 November 2022 | Australia | 18–76 | 2021 World Cup Group stage |
| 9 November 2022 | England | 0–121 | 2021 World Cup Group stage |
| 18 June 2023 | Scotland | 58–24 | 2023 Celtic Cup |
| 18 June 2023 | Wales | 30–30 | 2023 Celtic Cup |
| 8 June 2024 | Scotland | 68–34 | 2024 Celtic Cup |
| 8 June 2024 | Wales | 68–32 | 2024 Celtic Cup |
| 21 November 2024 | France | 20–62 | Friendly |

## Records

IRL Wheelchair World Rankingsvte :
| Official rankings as of June 2024 ||||
| Rank | Change | Team | Pts % |
| 1 | | England | 100 |
| 2 | | France | 89 |
| 3 | | Australia | 61 |
| 4 | 1 | Ireland | 49 |
| 5 | 1 | Wales | 47 |
| 6 | | Scotland | 38 |
| 7 | 1 | United States | 27 |
| 8 | 1 | Spain | 23 |
| 9 | | Italy | 0 |
| Complete rankings at INTRL.SPORT ||||
* Biggest win: 60–10 v. Scotland (14 September 2014)
* Biggest defeat: 0–121 v. England (9 November 2022)

## Honours

* Celtic Cup (2): 2015, 2024