Leeds Rhinos have been at the forefront of the wheelchair game for a number of years and are on course for more glory in 2024. Their captain, Jodie Boyd-Ward, talks to IAN GOLDEN about what makes them tick.
THREE months ago, back in issue 497, we previewed the new Wheelchair Super League season and predicted that Leeds Rhinos would win the competition.
Well so far, it’s going as predicted. With three rounds to go, the Rhinos have already clinched the League Leaders’ Shield, doing so on 10th August after a dramatic 56-54 win over Halifax Panthers.
The winning try in that game was scored by Leeds captain Jodie Boyd-Ward, the world’s most capped wheelchair rugby league player with Ireland, Englad and Wales, and she is delighted about how her side has performed this season.
“You can tell the improvements that our side has made”, she says. “I couldn’t be any prouder of the team, especially as we’ve not stuck to our typical five or six players. We’ve brought new players in and have brought some up from our development side.
“Some games have been closer than others but that’s because we’ve been trying different combinations and you’ve got the likes of Becky Wilkinson and Cameron Hills who have come in and it’s a massive step for them. Becky was playing for the reserve side previously and Cam was just training for four months before playing Super League.
“With those two in the mix, it’s definitely made us all work harder and gel with new players. The core set-up we’ve had for the last ten years has been the same players so having new people come in and work as a team, I couldn’t be more proud.”
Whilst Leeds are unbeaten in the league this year, they failed to reach the final of the Wheelchair Challenge Cup for the first time since 2018. They’d also played in the 2016 and 2017 finals, so missing out on the 2024 event, where Catalans Dragons beat Wigan Warriors, was somewhat of a disappointment.
“It was hard,” Boyd-Ward admits. “But as the competition was before any league games, once that was done and dusted, we were able to concentrate on Super League. As hard as it was for us all to not make that final, we had bigger things to focus on.
“Our aim now is of course to reach the Super League Grand Final again and to win the competition. To do that, we have to stick to the way we’ve been playing. It is harder this season though as teams have been continually improving.”
Boyd-Ward is full of praise for her head coach James Simpson MBE, who Boyd-Ward says has made a lot of positive changes to the side this season.
“Simo has been an integral part of the Rhinos’ success this season,” she admits. “He’s a big ambassador for the sport and I think he’s made that transition from player to head coach so smoothly. We had a couple of bumps when he was player-coach and that must be tough, I wouldn’t want to be a player-coach. I have nothing bad to say about Simo, he’s invested in a Veo camera so we can review games, that kind of thing, and when stuff goes wrong, he’s the first person to ask what he can do to change things.
“Take Nathan Mullhall, who for me has been our standout player this season. He’s put in so much work to get his passing right, no more basketball passes. When he first came over to Leeds, when he made a mistake, it would be head down. Now, he’s got a positive attitude, he’s much more content in games and he’s ready to get stuck in.
“We understand everything Simo brings to his coaching and is always looking to other sports and what he brings to us to improve our game. Training’s hard as we only have an hour, and throughout that time, we’re full on, but when we’ve had a run of games which is so condensed, which is what’s happened this season, he’s introduced things into training which has made sessions a bit more entertaining and enjoyable. I’m not one to sing praises but Simo will always get praise from me.”
Rugby League World is 500 issues old and who would have thought back in 1976, when the first issue of Open Rugby was published, that we’d be talking about rugby league being played in a wheelchair and men being captained by a woman. But this is 2024 and we can proudly celebrate all of this, with wheelchair rugby league going one step further and welcoming players who recognise as any gender, including non-binary and transgender players.
“We’re getting there,” Boyd-Ward said. “But there’s a lot of work to do and a long way to go. I like the fact that everyone can play together in one side. There were talks of having women-only development camps and I’m all out for developing women in the sport but I’m heavily against the idea of splitting the leagues. I don’t see the point and it completely takes away all the work we’ve done in the past to make this sport the most inclusive sport in the world and may alienate some players who don’t recognise as any gender.
“I want to see Wheelchair RL progress even more and for me, having another female in our Super League side with Becky there has made a difference to me. I look at other competitions we have like the RFL Championship and the Welsh League and I see so many women and girls playing the game. They all have so much potential to go so far in this sport and that’s what makes me happy with where we’ve come from. Going back to when I started, I can probably remember two female international players and this has continued to grow with each World Cup and Celtic Cup. My hope is that if I get to the next World Cup, there are more females coming through and pushing for places in all international sides.
“One of my team-mates (Verity Smith) is a trans man. When he could no longer play the running game, league or union, this sport welcomed him with open arms. It’s also inspiring other young trans and non-binary people, disabled or not, to have a look at the sport and to come into an environment where nobody cares who you are, just come in, crack on and have fun.”
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 500 (September 2024)
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