Wheelchair rugby league

Wheelchair rugby league is a wheelchair-based version of rugby league football, one of two recognised disability versions of the sport. It was developed by French rugby league player, coach and official, Wally Salvan in 2004. Unlike other wheelchair sports, people without disabilities are allowed to compete in top-level competition. The sport is also unique in the fact that men and women of any age can play against each other in top-level competition.

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 rules

The game then sees its own particular rules:

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

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

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: 1
 Scotland: 0
 Wales: 7

Domestic competitions

 FFR
 Wheelchair Elite One Championship
 Wheelchair Elite Two Championship

 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 over twenty teams from across the country taking part. They feature in the RFL Wheelchair Super League, Championship League and then regional development leagues. Teams in Britain include:

Super League
 Halifax Panthers
 Hull FC
 Leeds Rhinos
 London Roosters
 Warrington Wolves
 Wigan Warriors

Championship
 Bradford Bulls
 Mersey Storm
 North Wales Crusaders
 Rochdale Hornets
 Sheffield Eagles

Regional Development
 Argonauts
 Bedford Tigers
 Gravesend Dynamite
 Hereford Harriers
 Medway Dragons
 Torfaen Tigers
 Wakefield Trinity
 Woodland Warriors
 York Knights

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:

 Aingirak
 Avignon
 Catalans Dragons
 Montauban
 Saint Jory
 Toulouse Olympique

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

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

Variations of rugby league
Sports originating in France