The United States national wheelchair rugby league team represents the United States in

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 wheelcha ...

. The team, nicknamed the Hawks, is controlled by

USA Rugby League The USA Rugby League (USARL) is the official governing body for rugby league, a code of rugby football, in the United States. The organization also runs the national amateur competition for club teams in the US. The league consists of six te ...

, the governing body for

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Formed in 2022, the team made its debut at the 2021 Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup finishing third in their group with one victory and two defeats. In 2019 the organizers of the 2021 Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup announced the United States as one of the countries invited to participate in the tournament. At the time of the invite there was no national team, so Australian Geoff Mason a former player was recruited to form a team.

2021 World Cup

Following try-outs a squad of 11 domestically based players was chosen and flew to England for the Cup. The squad was captained by Jeff Townsend who had previously played

wheelchair basketball Wheelchair basketball is basketball played by people with varying physical disabilities that disqualify them from playing a non-disabled sport. These include spina bifida, birth defects, cerebral palsy, paralysis due to accident, amputations (of ...

and included just one non-disabled player, Micah Johnson. In England the squad was joined by Matthew Wooloff, a player based in the United Kingdom. The team's first ever competitive match was against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in Sheffield on November 4 with the US winning 62–41 with Mackenzie Johnson being named player of the match. The second group match was against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

with the US defeated 32–50 in a hard fought game. The defeat left the US team with a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals but it would require Wales lose their last group game against Scotland while the US team would have to be defending world champions and number 1

seeds A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm pl ...

, France. The game against France was a one-sided affair as France ran in 21 tries to win 116–6 with Mackenzie Johnson scoring the only try for the US. Mackenzie Johnson was named in the RLWC2021 Wheelchair Team of the Tournament.

References

{{reflist National sports teams of the United States National wheelchair rugby league teams 2022 establishments in the United States