ENGLAND coach Tom Coyd believes that next year’s Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup in Australia will be the most competitive yet.
Coyd has just returned from Australia after coaching England to a 2-0 Wheelchair Ashes series victory, and they also had tour wins over New South Wales and Queensland.
England and France have contested the last two World Cup Finals, but Coyd knows that this tour will have made Australia battle hardened come late next year.
“Australia demonstrated their improvement and generated the belief that they can go toe to toe with England,” Coyd said.
“Our players understand that Australia are a real contender for the World Cup next year.
“There’s going to be no easy route to the final and it was a big wake-up call for any players who thought that these matches were going to be an easy ride.”
Eight sides contest next year’s World Cup. England and Australia will be joined by France, Wales, Ireland, Scotland and USA, all of whom were in the 2022 edition, and newcomers New Zealand.
The Wheel Kiwis played their first international matches last year against Australia, and whilst they were defeated heavily, they will hope to improve as their players could get exposure in the expanded NRL competition.
Coyd also expects challenges from the other home nations. Ireland are now two-time Celtic Cup winners, Scotland will improve due to their players competing in Super League, whilst Wales will have players returning who haven’t been able to turn out this year.
“Next year will definitely be the most competitive Wheelchair World Cup that there’s ever been, which is exactly what the game deserves, because in my opinion that there’s nothing more exciting than a competitive game of wheelchair,” Coyd adds.
“It’s really exciting for us to see the development of the other home nations because it gives us better opportunities to develop ourselves when we’ve got close neighbours that we can compete against and that will enhance the domestic competition as well.
“If we’ve got more players playing in the Super League and the Championship who are playing top level games internationally, then they bring that experience back to the domestic competition.
“And that creates a rising tide that that raises all ships.”