The inaugural Physical Disability Rugby League (PDRL) World Cup gets underway in Warrington today (Sunday 23 October), with England Community Lions taking on Adam Hills’ Australia in Warrington (4.30pm).
PDRL is a full contact version of the game, adapted for participants with a physical disability who want to access a running version of Rugby League. England’s 20-player squad is drawn from foundations linked to five Super League clubs: Castleford Tigers; Leeds Rhinos; Wakefield Trinity; Warrington Wolves and Wigan Warriors.
PDRL was initially developed in Australia, arriving in England in 2018 when Warrington Wolves and Leeds Rhinos played the first ever game of PDRL in the northern hemisphere. Governance of PDRL is in line with Paralympic sport and international disability competition. The game includes full contact tackles, though players who have a disability that restricts them from playing full contact safely are permitted to play Touch RL tackle rules and are identifiable by their red shorts.
England team manager, John Welch, said: “Being part of the RLWC is amazing, and I know all of the players and staff are really excited about showcasing our sport to the world. Who doesn’t dream of walking out onto any sporting field and wearing their country’s shirt?
“Since our inception five years ago, the plan was to make our variant of the sport as accessible as possible, and for it also not to be a short-term option for our athletes. The idea was to set a platform to engage with people who had either never played the sport, or were lost to it due to their disability.
“I will be so proud to walk out onto that pitch and watch our boys play against the best that Australia, New Zealand and Wales have to offer, and I know that anyone new to our sport will be amazed at the skill level and the passion shown for the badge. I cannot wait!”
Fixtures (all at Victoria Park, Warrington, other than the final)
Sunday 23 October 2022
14:00 – New Zealand v Wales
16:30 – England Community Lions v Australia
Tuesday 25 October 2022
14:00 – Wales v England Community Lions
16:30 – Australia v New Zealand
Friday 28 October
16:30 – England Community Lions v New Zealand
19:00 – Australia v Wales
Sunday 30 October
14:00 – 3rd vs 4th Play-off, Victoria Park ASICS Stadium, Warrington
19:00 – FINAL (Halliwell Jones Stadium, following Samoa vs France RLWC Men’s fixture)
Admission to all games (excluding the final) is free. Every game will be streamed live on BBC, with all games before the Final also available on the RLWC2021 (Our League) app.
