Hat-tricks, trophies and weekly flights across the Irish Sea – Ireland’s Cian Horgan is going the extra mile in pursuit of World Cup glory.

YOUNG Irish star Cian Horgan has ticked off one of his goals for the year by helping his country retain the Celtic Cup in May.

A hat-trick of tries against Scotland in a 70-40 win, followed by a brace against Wales in a closer 50-38 victory, meant that he helped Ireland to make history by taking the trophy before the final game of the tournament. The final match, where Wales beat Scotland 50-46, was a dead rubber for the first time in Celtic Cup history.

It was Ireland’s third Celtic Cup win on the bounce, and the 22-year-old from Listowel in County Kerry, who has spina bifida, has been involved each time. He now has nine Irish caps, 17 tries and three goals on his record, after making his debut in 2023.

Last year’s wins saw Ireland record their two largest scores in their history, but that gap has now closed again, especially against Wales, who Ireland will now take on in the World Cup later this year.

“We’ve got a good coaching staff and a good foundation from where we started and we’ve grown and grown,” Horgan said.

“It was very competitive this year. Scotland especially have improved massively.

“We went in there feeling good, we went in to win, and thankfully, we did.

“Wales have gone backwards a little in recent years, but they’re improving again, which is great to see.”

Before Ireland’s Celtic Cup win in 2024, Wales had taken the trophy seven times in a row. The Irish knew that something had to be done, and Horgan was one of many who were recruited from the open days held all over Ireland.

“We have three sides over here now,” Horgan said. “We have a Munster team and a Leinster team, and then we have a select team from the other two provinces, Ulster and Connacht, because we’re still developing in those areas.

“It’s good to see, because we have matches here regularly enough.”

Horgan, along with his Ireland wheelchair team-mates James McCarthy and Maurice Noonan, is also an Ireland international at Wheelchair Floorball, and has also played Wheelchair Hurling and Wheelchair Basketball.

And it’s thanks to some of his team-mates in the latter that he got into Wheelchair Rugby League.

“Basically, they told me there was a come-and-try session in Ireland and I said that I’d go and see what it’s like.

“So I went to the session in Dublin and from there I didn’t look back.

“We have weekend sessions in Ireland. On Saturdays, we have matches, then on Sunday, the Irish squad trains, and that’s good because it’s how we’re growing the sport more here in Ireland.

“Obviously, my aim now is to do as much as I can to get in the World Cup squad.”

And part of that for Horgan is to play Wheelchair Rugby League at the highest level. Following last year’s Celtic Cup win, even though he’s still based in Ireland, Horgan has become a regular in Wheelchair Super League with Halifax Panthers.

Joining them midway through last season, he’s already tasted success, being part of the side that won the League Leaders’ Shield and then the Grand Final, where they beat London Roosters.

It means that there’s a lot of travel involved for Horgan, but he’s certainly clocking up the air miles flying across the Irish Sea on a weekly basis.

“When I first started playing, at first I thought, ’Let’s just see where this goes,’” Horgan said.

“But then, before the Celtic Cup last year in Wales, I knew that I wanted to play this game properly.

“I was talking to a few of my team-mates with Halifax and asked how I could get into all this and it just took off from there.

“I now fly over once a week. Halifax train on a Friday evening, and then we play on the weekend, so it all works out quite handy.

“I travel over on Friday and come back on Sunday and usually I stay with one of my team-mates for a couple of nights.”

As Horgan joined Halifax late in the season, he wasn’t involved in their Challenge Cup win, the first part of what was a historic treble for the club.

But now, as Halifax have reached this year’s Challenge Cup Final, which will be played at Robin Park, Wigan, on Saturday, 25th July, he will have a chance to star in this final as well and take on a side he’d never played before this season in Leeds Rhinos.

The two clubs didn’t face each other in 2025 after Leeds withdrew from their Super League match due to a player’s wedding, and the tie wasn’t able to be rearranged. It meant that Leeds also had to forfeit their place in the play-offs.

Halifax were unbeaten in their first six matches – a run which included a narrow 52-46 win over Leeds – leaving Horgan pleased about how their season has gone so far.

“We started off a bit slower, but we’re building up every game,“ he said. “We’ve played a few games now and we’ve just got stronger and stronger with each game.

“We’ll look forward to taking on Leeds in the Challenge Cup Final. They were the only team that I hadn’t played in Super League before this season.

“The league match against them was a big test to see where both teams were, ourselves included, and we could see where we needed to improve ahead of the Final.

“We know they’ll give us a big challenge in Wigan in the Final and we’ll have to be at the top of our game to take the trophy.”

First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 522 (July 2026)