It’s a big season for Wales wheelchair international star Scott Trigg-Turner as he embarks on a quest for honours with three sides, writes IAN GOLDEN.
IN ADDITION to his country, 44-year old Scott Trigg-Turner will be playing for Wigan Warriors in the Wheelchair Super League and Torfaen Tigers in the WRL Wheelchair Invitational League.
Wales have just gone back into training for the Celtic Cup, which this year will be held in South Wales for the very first time.
Wales, Scotland and Ireland clash at Cardiff Metropolitan University’s Archers Arena on Saturday 24 May in a gruelling day that sees Scotland, Ireland and Wales face each other in three 80-minute clashes over six hours, with the winner being crowned at the end.
Ireland are the current holders, following seven successive titles for Wales and Trigg-Turner, who was one of the captains last year, knows that the Dragons are determined to take back the Celtic Cup on home soil.
“I won’t say it was disappointing last year as we had a new side,” Trigg-Turner admits. “In last year’s Celtic Cup, we brought in some new players to see how they adapt to that high intensity of rugby.
“This year, I’m sure we’ll bring in more players to training from different teams to pit them against the senior players and the previous players from last year and hopefully bring that strength from us onto them and try and build Wales to make us stronger and ready for this Celtic Cup.
“The aim is to try to get everybody up to international standard. It’s going to be hard, but that’s the challenge we’ve got at the moment.
“I was very proud to captain Wales last year. Everyone should be proud to captain their country, no matter what sport and whatever the result is.
“I couldn’t have been prouder of the effort the players put in and for me as captain, it was a great experience after I think 10-11 years in this sport.
“Hopefully I can get to captain Wales again but it’s down to the management and me proving myself once again.”
One avenue that Wales have been introducing players into Wheelchair Rugby League is the WRL Wheelchair Invitational League, which kicks off its third season on Sunday 9th March at University of South Wales in Treforest.
Four teams are in this year’s competition, North Wales Crusaders, Cardiff Blue Dragons, Swindon St George and Trigg-Turner’s own Torfaen Tigers side.
There will be eight match-dates throughout the year with each club hosting a double-header, meaning all four teams will take part at every venue.
Talking about Torfaen Tigers, Trigg-Turner said: “I’ve seen a lot of promising new players coming through with this team since I’ve been here.
“Some of the players we already had have improved a lot with their strength, their speed, their endurance and with the new players we’ve got now, they can pass that on to them and hopefully this team will get stronger and stronger and challenge the bigger teams down the line.
“This team can do well. We’ve got the players to do it, we’ve got the players capable of winning the competition and I’m glad I’m here to help them.
“This league is a good set-up for the new development teams. The new players can actually get involved with experienced players and can actually play alongside them. We can pass our knowledge on to them, and this league is perfect for development players, those who are not on the elite stage yet.”
In Wheelchair Rugby League, players can take part in sides that stem from different nations if they wish and Trigg-Turner took advantage of that last year, playing for London Roosters as well as Torfaen.
But this season when it comes to his Super League side, he’s going north, having just signed for Wigan Warriors.
Super League champions in 2023, Wigan finished fourth out of five last season. Now the league has been extended to seven sides with last year’s top four favourites to reach the semi-finals.
“Hopefully we can go a step or two further than last year and win everything,” Trigg-Turner said. “But we know it’ll be tough, especially against Leeds Rhinos with Jodie Boyd-Ward as captain.
“She’s my international teammate and it’s always entertainment when I play against Jodie. We always have good banter together and we try to get one up on each other. She seems to be winning at the moment but I’m not going to let her this season.
“But it’s amazing against Jodie, who has played for Wales alongside me and can play against me in this league. It’s great for both of us to take what we learn from a Super League club and then bring it to international training.
“It’s good to see new teams coming in the Super League. We’ve got Sheffield Eagles and Edinburgh Giants coming in. That of course makes the league bigger and it’ll be more of a challenge for the rest of the teams to step it up a bit, because there are some good players and some good some teams there. So, it’s going to be tough.”
The long-term target for Trigg-Turner is to be on the plane for the World Cup in Australia in 2026.
Trigg-Turner now has 28 caps for Wales. His 49 goals puts him third in the Welsh rankings, whilst his 57 tries and 326 points are both second in Welsh international rankings in those categories.
Making his debut in the 2013 World Cup and playing in the 2022 tournament too, he has helped Wales to two World Cup semi-finals in addition to four Celtic Cup wins.
“I’m Wales’ longest-serving player now I think,” he said. “I started playing Wheelchair Rugby League in 2010 and then in 2013, Alan Caron brought me into the Wales squad for the first time. I have him and Steve Jones to thank for my time with Wales.
“It’s hard to believe that my debut was nearly 12 years ago and I think I’m still getting stronger, so there’s no retirement for me anytime soon.
“For us, it’s target Australia for the next World Cup. First, we want to win the Celtic Cup and from there we want to keep improving and do well in Australia in 2026. I know I want to be on that plane and I know it’ll be the same for others too. It’s exciting times.”
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 506 (March 2025)
