Wheelchair rugby league is a wheelchair-based version of
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 ...
football, one of two recognised disability versions of the sport. It was developed by
French rugby league player, coach and official,
Wally Salvan
Wally may refer to:
Music
* Wally (band), British prog rock band
** ''Wally'' (album), a 1974 album by Wally
* '' La Wally'', an opera by Alfredo Catalani
Other uses
*Wally (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
*WALLY, a propos ...
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
Like most forms of modern football, rugby league football is played outdoors on a rectangular grass field with goals at each end that are to be attacked and defended by two opposing teams. The rules of rugby league have changed significantly ov ...
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
Clubs
France
* Catalans Dragons
United Kingdom
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 Super League, Championship League and then a development league. Teams in Britain include:
* Bedford Tigers
* Bradford Bulls
* Celts
* Dundee Dragons
* EBBW Vale
* Gravesend Dynamite
* Halifax Panthers
* Hereford Harriers
* Hull FC
* Leeds Rhinos
* Leyland Warriors
* Medway Dragons
* Mersey Storm
* Newcastle Thunder
* North Wales Crusaders
* Rochdale Hornets
* Sheffield Eagles
* St Helens
* Swindon St. George
* Wakefield Trinity
* Warrington Wolves
* West Wales Raiders
* Wigan Warriors
* Woodland Warriors
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. The 2017 World Cup was held in the south of France in July.
The 2021 World Cup (played in 2022 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
) took place in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
with 8 teams, England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France, Spain, USA and Australia. England defeated France 28-24 in the final in Manchester with an attendance of just under 5000.
The next World Cup will be in France as part of the
2025 Rugby League World Cup
The 2025 Rugby League World Cup will be the seventeenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup and will be held in France in October and November 2025. Beyond the Rugby League World Cup, there will be several other separate World Cups under the t ...
.
World Cup summaries
European Championship
European Championship summaries
Domestic Competitions
:
RFL
* Wheelchair Super League
*
Wheelchair Challenge Cup
The Wheelchair Challenge Cup is a wheelchair rugby league competition organised by the Rugby Football League.
Finals
See also
* Challenge Cup
*Women's Challenge Cup
The Women's Challenge Cup is a rugby league knockout competition organise ...
See also
*
IRL Wheelchair World Rankings
The IRL Wheelchair World Rankings are the ranking system for men's wheelchair national teams in the sport of rugby league football. The first rankings were published in June 2020.
See also
*International Rugby League
*RLIF Awards
*IRL Women's ...
*
Wheelchair sports
Parasports are sports played by people with a disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities. Some parasports are forms of adapted physical activities from existing able-bodied sports, while others have been specifically created for ...
*
Wheelchair rugby
Wheelchair rugby (originally murderball, and known as quad rugby in the United States) is a team sport for athletes with a disability. It is practised in over twenty-five countries around the world and is a summer Paralympic sport.
The US name ...
*
Wheelchair Australian rules football The first organised game of competitive wheelchair Australian rules football was played at the RAAF base in Adelaide, South Australia on 8 November 2015. The game involved a team of wounded Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel undergoing rehabil ...
References
External links
RFL page on Wheelchair rugby leagueEnglish Federation of Disabled SportRL Festival of World Cups 2013
{{Team Sport
*
Variations of rugby league
Sports originating in France