This will be the 5th wheelchair WC, going back to 2008. England and France have won two each. It's not like Australia not to be leading in the sport and they are working overtime playing catch up. They will be serious challengers for the trophy this time.
This is the only part of international RL that the Northern Hemisphere leads in terms of numbers playing and the standard it's played at.
For the men's coverage,simply click here.It's been a relatively quiet calendar for wheelchair RL this year. Six fixtures that I am aware of. Let me know if I've missed any. The Celtic nations provided four of them and a tour by England to Australia being the other two.
The Celtic Cup was won by Ireland, Wales was second and Scotland third. I expected Wales to take this one but Ireland were clearly the best side. Scotland and Ireland then played a friendly later in the year.
Australia were late to get into the wheelchair version of the game and has been well beaten in the past. A top player from England has been coaching Down Under added to a determination to catch up, the series looked promising.
The video above shows highlights of the first test. England rallied late to run away with it but there was a big improvement shown there by the hosts. The second international looked like being an upset to Australia but a late rally and England just got home.
I'm surprised there wasn't a game between the two heavyweights of this form of the game, England and France. Hopefully that will be addressed in 2026.
It was led initially by France who were joined by England at the top of the tree. They are still the two leading nations although England may be slightly ahead at this point. It was good to see the USA come over for two tests against Wales and the Celtic Cup should assist those three nation's development.
New Zealand played its first ever Wheelchair RL game against an experienced Australia. The two matches were one sided but the hopefully it will lead to more competitive games in the future.
While it was a success at the last World Cup, it does become a bit of a sleeper version of the game in the four years between. I assume the cost is a factor. Still, there are domestic competitions that are very competitive.
Updated 25.11.24.
Wheelchair RL has arrived and with a bang (sometimes literally). It has men, women, able and disabled playing. As the game at the top develops, the physicality is increasing and that tends to favour men. There have to be at least two disabled on the court at any time so that is important to keep to the point of why it was started in the first place.
So is the game going too far in the physical side of things? Below the top flight, there is much less intensity and more about having some fun so that is still catered for. As long as remains so, then it will thrive. Get too rough in lower levels and something would need to be done.
Here are my top trivia picks:
1) England has made all four finals, winning two of them.
2) France and England share the most trophy wins with two apiece.
3) 34,400 spectators came to watch the WC games in 2021, a record.
4) Three nations have been at all four WCs, Australia, England and France.
5) New Zealand is a strong RL nation but has yet to attend a Wheelchair WC.
6) The winners have scored the following percentages per match: 2013 - 84%, 2017 - 74% and 2021 - 79%.
7) Scotland is the only side not to win a game with nine losses over three tournaments.
2008: Host - Australia. Winner England
Four sides were invited but the NZ team pulled out. Those that attended were England (winner by 44-12), Australia (runner up), France (presumably third) and the Barbarians (an invitation squad to make a fourth team).
I don't have any other information so if anyone could provide some, please let me know at rdc1234@gmail.com. Thank you.
2013: Host - Australia. Winner France
The average attendance for matches was 2,293, a fine result for a form of the game largely unknown within the RL fraternity, let alone the public at large. The final was a sellout and a record attendance for Wheelchair RL at 4,526.
Double header games skew the figures as some spectators would only go to one fixture of the two. The reality is there was no way of accurately separating them. Even allowing for that, good support and possibly the most successful part of the RL WC 2021.
France 84-40 Australia
France as holders of the trophy and full of talent was expected to win and win well. They did take the lead almost immediately. Australia wasn't lying down though and at the quarter mark, it was 24-10 to the Tricolours. The Kangaroos couldn't go with them and the half time tally was 54-10.
The second half started the Wheelaroos got into the game more as the Frenetic pace of the first half eased a bit. The scoreline was 66-22 with a quarter to play and from there both sides were scoring tit for tat. The second half scoreline was 30-30.
England 125-22 Wales
After ten minutes England led 18-0, the speed and quality on show and in abundance. Wales was trying but just outclassed. 70-6 at the break but Wales was more effective in the second half. Still, it was a comprehensive display.
Grand Final: England 28-24 France (Picture above: England on attack)
Right away, there was a tightness in this encounter as two close sides came together. Early calls were all going France's way and they took the lead 8-0 after ten minutes. England finally got on the scoreboard on the 18th minute but they couldn't get a ref's call in their favour. England got a try so clean even the officials couldn't take that off them. 14-12 to the French six at the break...I mean five.
England started the better and took the lead but France wasn't going away and it was 22-20 to England with a quarter of the game to go. With nine to go, it was 22-22. Then a fine try to England's captain got them ahead 26-22 with two minutes to go. A conversion would have been nice. Still, it was enough to deliver the WC to the England side. It doesn't happen very often.
The winner into the semi finals, the loser goes home. Spain were impatient and making mistakes. It was 16-6 to the Wheelaroos after 16-6, 20-10 in 30 minutes. Youth and speed favoured the Aussies too and the 32-10 score at the turn around was a good place to be. Spain gave a crack in the second period but were not good enough to catch up.
England 121-0 Ireland
It was only going to be a deluge of points from England and they didn't disappoint. The speed and execution had them up 66-0 at the break. A world record crowd of over 3,800 saw a repeat of the first half.
France 116-6 USA
It was always going to be a one sided match, damage limitation the goal of the USA. The 64-0 half time score one both sides could be reasonably satisfied with. A great game to admire France's speed and skill but not a nail biter by any means.
Wales 70-36 Scotland (picture above)
An important game to decide who advanced to the semi finals. At the quarter mark, Wales was ahead 24-6 and 36-20 at the break. Wales were the better but the score was close enough to make it anyone's. The second period Wales raced away with it. Wales into the semis.
Round two has been weally good so here are the summaries.
England 104-12 Spain. (picture above)
The game had a blistering start with a try apiece after two minutes. There was initially a frenetic pace but then England took control of possession the game. Spain kept trying to catch out England with early kicks but it didn't work. The half time tally was 50-10 to England.
The second period was one way traffic as Spain was unable to mount any serious attack. If there was a prize for the most players they could knock over it would be Gonzales. The first several minutes in the first half were close, and then to see the final score!
Australia 76-18 Ireland.
Australia was quickly ahead 18-0 but just after the 20 minute mark it was 18-12 so game on. Then after a struggle, Australia hit late with a string of tries were ahead 42-12 at the break. The second half started tight but the speed and experience of Australia had them pull away.
France 80-15 Scotland.
Hot favourites France raced to a 10-0 lead but after 15 minutes it was 10-6 so Scotland was giving it a real go. Still, the speed of the French side was always going to be too much. As things weren't entirely going their way, they got frustrated and a bit niggly. 50-6 at the turn around.
Scotland kept trying hard and France was not as rampant as could be expected. With a bit more class, Scotland would have iced a few more chances.
Wales 50-32 USA.
A win for the USA and they were into the semi finals. A win for Wales and it's open between these sides and Scotland for that coveted place. It was tight with the USA scoring at the quarter mark to give them a 14-6 lead. Wales came back in a enthralling contest to be ahead 30-22 at the break.
By the three quarter mark, Wales had pulled ahead, 44-26 the score, their experience was counting. Some of Wales' handling was getting better as the game progressed. Wales finished the stronger, the USA side looked like the intense tournament had drained them.
The wheel chair side of RL is part of a wider tournament. This is my first viewing of this RL version of the code apart from a few highlights videos. The first round featured four games and the summary follows (two to come).
Ireland 55-32 Spain. (Pic above)
Spain started with speed and slickness and established a strong lead early on. It was 30-4 at the 28 minute mark. Ireland then steadied the ship for the next 12 minutes and only trailed 10-30 at the half time break.
Ireland now had some momentum Spain came back and by the three quarter mark, it was 42-20. Spain was too well organised for the Irish side, but the latter certainly showed a lot of character.
England 38-8 Australia.
A top game was expected and they didn't disappoint. Australia took a lead 6-0 in a tight first quarter. Then England cut loose and Australia couldn't go with them. The speed of England's play was telling and they led 26-6 despite some ordinary goal kicking. The second period was tight but the home side were the better side and comfortably so.
France 158-6 Wales.
This was the favourite France putting on a show. A couple of tries with players in front of the kicker notwithstanding, their lead of 66-0 after 25 minutes was a quite a show. Wales then got a converted try but the half time score of 96-6 was some mismatch. The second half the same.
USA 62-41 Scotland.
I didn't know what to expect here but after 4 minutes, it was 12-0 to the USA. Frenetic play ensued with Scotland coming back nicely in a tit for tat scoring pattern. The USA slipped ahead late to lead in a fascinating encounter 38-24.
Mistakes and some scrappy play didn't detract from the spectacle due to the energy and enthusiasm exhibited. The USA players were speedy and chased kicks with success. For a country new to the sport, an excellent outcome first up.