gogledd

Enjoyed our day out in Barrow especially when we went 22- 24 up! I thought we had a decent 20/25 minute spell but Barrow were always going to win the game. I was impressed with your #28; he created a lot of space and engineered overlaps in our defence. The winger, Rio Corkill, had a good game too and his breakaway try was the start of Barrow piling on the points....our sin bin didn't help either. Thanks for the hospitality, the banter and making us welcome. Best wishes for the season

Initially I thought Barrow were going to run away with it but Crusaders had a great spell after 20 minutes. Jordan Andrade doing some damage from close to the line. The score got away when Rio Corkwell(?) scored an interception try for Raiders and then we had a (very harsh) sin binning and the gaps were there for Barrow to exploit. Some good touches from Crusaders but Barrow were very effective in creating space and overlaps - the Barrow #28 looked to be the pick of the bunch. Thanks to Barrow fans for making us welcome. All the best for the season.

I've sent you a personal message

Seriously?? Virtue signalling? Pfft!

I know Warrington have Wheelchair and PDRL, but I don't know if they have a LDRL team too.

North Wales Crusaders supports 3 Wheelchair RL teams and is actively looking at LDRL next season. Our problem is finding sufficient coaches and volunteers to run the various teams...and of course money! But as others have pointed out the way forward is setting up a Foundation, which we now have for our community work.

Has the draw for the First Round games taken place yet? If not when does it happen? Edit: I've found it - 12th January.

Its a good list and I've done quite a few....the stand out ones were attending the PNG v Wales game in RLWC2017, as probably the only independent travelling Wales fan, ans singing Abide With Me on the pitch in 2016 as a member of the 32-strong Fans Choir selected for the occasion. And yes, please do try Wheelchair Rugby League an absolutely fantastic.....you may even meet some Welsh, Scottish and Irish internationals as well as the English ones! I added another one to my bucket list this year and got capped for Wales Masters RL against England and Ireland!

I'd agree. Stebonheath is a smashing ground, a decent clubhouse and the pitch is always immaculate. A real shame if WWR fold but they need to improve and attract supporters.

Currently there are 6 teams playing in Super League and the Championship games have been regionalised to cut down on travelling costs. I'd imagine that given the current level of interest there may be some regional cluster games for the new developing teams to get some game time this season. Wales RL are looking at at least a tournament where all our teams can compete against each other (and probably add Hereford Harriers considering the number of Welsh Internationals in their squad). Less than 3 years ago there was only ONE team in Wales, now there are Torfaen Tigers, Cardiff Blues and West Wales to add to North Wales Crusaders pioneering work since 2013.

Its definitely recognisable to anyone who has watched a game of running rugby league. No doubt. The thousands who turned out to watch RLWC games would testify to that. You may be right about it not being a money spinner in general, but lets be fair most people wouldn't have even know it was being played until it got the TV exposure during the World Cup. Wales have played 6 Celtic Cup tournaments (Wales v Ireland v Scotland) and they've been watched by a maximum of 50 people. Wales played Australia in a pre-RLWC test in Cardiff in front of maybe 20 people! But the World Cup showed that people will come to watch big tournament games given adequate exposure and marketing. It may not be your cup of tea - I doubt it is for everyone, but I'd encourage you to get along and watch at least one top-level game before dismissing it as the Emperors New Clothes!

I can appreciate that from a spectators point of view, but before this World Cup attendance at International Wheelchair games has been almost non-existent. RLWC2021 has set the bar far higher than previous tournaments and I look forward to the governing bodies putting in the hard yards to keep international games at this level.

The speed of the game will be relatively slow to start with and the impacts will be at low speed if all the players are new to the sport, and your suggestion isn't impossible but its likely existing clubs will have a mixture of players with and without experience. There also the consideration of weight distribution of players; players with missing lower limbs are more likely to tip out of their chairs. People with a slight build are more likely to tip in a collision with a heavier person. It is something good coaching can control but eventually people will progress and want to improve their game, play faster and be able to tackle, which inevitably means stopping the attacking players chair. A running team could play a game on a school yard but that would be a completely different game to that played on a surface where you could carry out a full tackle. Wheelchair rugby league has the same limitations. I'd encourage you to try out the game and see how the different surfaces, and tackle techniques impact players in attack and defence.

I understand that team starting out have difficulties with numbers and costs, but realistically you wouldn't advise a running team to start on a car park and work their way up to a grass surface....it can be done, and has been done but its not a great way to start and is likely to damage chairs and injure players.

If you've watched the game you'll see that many of the impacts in a tackle result in players and their chairs hitting the ground! Personally I wouldn't want to do that as there could be some serious graze injuries - similar to a cyclist falling off on tarmac at high speed! It will probably depend on the surface, but sports wheelchair tyres aren't great on surfaces that aren't smooth. Rough surfaces will probably result in punctures and injury....and other surfaces can be very difficult to push and manoeuvre the chairs. It's been tried...and its probably why we play indoors!

Fantastic news. Well done York

I'm so glad you enjoyed the Wheelchair RL tournament. It has been hidden from view really for too long and now that people have seen what a spectacular sport Wheelchair RL is I hope you are right and it gets picked up by a free to air broadcaster. There is plenty of footage on YouTube but that's not quite the same as the recent BBC broadcasts with multiple views of plays, in game replays and some fairly decent commentary too. Currently Rugby Union doesn't have an equivalent: Wheelchair Rugby is a para-sport aimed at disabled ONLY players. Its played with a round ball, pass in any direction, no H shaped posts, and a try is similar to a touchdown in American football - break the plane of the try line and a try is scored. The RFU did support it for a very short while but as I understand it there's no longer a tie-in to Rugby Union, however there is a European competition to be held in Cardiff in 2023, so we'll see if union try to tie in with that....ex Wales and Llanelli player Rupert Moon seems to be promoting it on behalf of the sport of it could be he's doing it because its based in Cardiff. There is a version of Wheelchair Rugby 7s, which does look a lot more like Union - but none of the Union governing bodies support it and I've advised any of our players to ensure they get personal insurance if they do take it up. Some of our (North Wales Crusaders) did take it up but it was very short lived as basically there are no club teams and no national structure.

The RFL actually control the main competitions in the UK ensuring teams compete at different levels (similar to the running game) there are teams that compete at Super League level (Halifax, Leeds Rhinos, Wigan Warriors, London Roosters, North Wales Crusaders) and then there are Championship level teams too (North Wales Crusaders compete in this level with a different team). For teams starting out or not yet at a competitive level there are development games organised on a more ad hock basis, very often with established teams coming along to help out. I know that North Wales did this with Warrington until they were at a stage they could enter the leagues. Some of the competition games have been broadcast e.g. The Wheelchair Challenge Cup final and the Wheelchair Super League Grand Final. We do have some great arenas in the UK but the cost is extremely prohibitive! Even for a basketball sized sports hall its easily £80 per hour. Clubs are run on a shoestring, and the biggest outlay (after buying sports chairs) is hall hire, for games and training. To Answer @Dave W when playing and hosting international tournaments Wales Wheelchair RL have used Deeside Leisure Centre, Plas Madoc Leisure Centre and Glyndwr University Sports Hall (all in North Wales) and recently Cardiff Met University to play a pre-RLWC test against Australia.....this is the usual type of arena that all current wheelchair teams use. The facilities at RLWC2021 - The EIS in Sheffield, The Copperbox in London and the Manchester Central Arena were exceptional and probably very costly too!

And your point is? Have a look at the rugby playing demographic of South Wales compared to North... Lets hope WWR are not in trouble, lots of dedicated people trying to keep a League 1 club going in Llanelli.

There are taster sessions in most clubs that currently have wheelchair teams and its great to hear that other clubs are looking at setting up teams...I have heard that Salford are another team looking at starting up. Very best wishes to anyone who takes it on.

Wales' Mark Williams missed selection for the World Cup semi-final after his Head Injury Assessment. He went over backwards in his chair against Scotland and his head hit the ground. Unfortunate, but it does happen in Wheelchair Rugby too.

The chairs North Wales Crusaders play in were sourced using funding from Disability Sports Wales and other grants, to ensure people with disabilities have access to sport. The chairs Wales Wheelchair team use were sourced via Wales Rugby League. There are a variety of costs - like buying a bicycle, it all depends on the quality of the build the weigt etc. Our elite Wales RL chairs cost in the region of £3000 each but some players have paid more for their own individual bespoke chairs.

Domestic Wheelchair Rugby League is in full flow following the success of the national side at the recent World Cup. Cardiff Blue Dragons, North Wales Crusaders and Torfaen Tigers confirm taster sessions whilst West Wales Raiders are looking to confirm some sessions in the coming weeks. Cardiff, who are coached by former Wales head coach, Alana Sargent, will be running three free taster sessions on Wednesday 21st December, 4th and 18th January, 5:15-6:45pm out of the Cardiff City House of Sport. For more information on these sessions, contact: cardiffwheelchairrl@gmail.com. Torfaen Tigers, coached by former Wales assistant coach, Lyndon Price, will be running free sessions every Friday, 7-9pm at the Pontypool Leisure Centre. For more information on these sessions, contact: lprice42@hotmail.com. Up in North Wales, the Crusaders, coached by Wales coaches, Stephen Jones and Gary Taylor, will be running three free taster sessions on Friday 16th December, 6th and 20th January, 6-8pm out of the Deeside Leisure Centre. For more information on these sessions, contact: info@crusadersdisabilitysportsclub.co.uk. If you’re interested in getting involved in Wheelchair Rugby League but as a match official rather than a player or volunteer, contact: Stephen.jones@walesrugbyleague.co.uk to find out more information.

Two more positive points from me: Wales Wheelchair RL skipper Stuart Williams made the Golden Boot long list ans was place in the ten player Team of the Tournament squad and Wales Wheelchair RL player Stephen Halsey won Tackle of the Week (for Week 4) - with a little assistance from Andrew Higgins in wiping out a USA attack. Worth Watching if you've not seen it!

I think the point I was trying to make was that in this World Cup the Wheelchair teams have been given equal billing, received the same quality hotels, been given adequate and adapted transport and been made to feel like we are respected as international rugby league players. I hope you are right and there is an appetite to develop the game to such an extent that broadcast media will pick up games in their own right. Even in this tournament wheelchair rugby league has played in its own locations and not relied on Men's and Women's games a double headers. The wheelchair events were well supported in their own right and the momentum gained very quickly once people saw it on television. The seven people sitting behind me in the final had bought ticket BECAUSE they'd seen Wales v USA on TV and then watched other matches. It felt like the drum I'd been banging since 2013 was finally being heard!