WHEELCHAIR Rugby League is ready to conquer the world, according to the man charged with growing the game.
The Rugby Football League’s wheelchair manager Martin Coyd was in Perpignan on Friday night to oversee the inaugural European Club Championship between Catalans Dragons and Halifax Panthers (the trophy was shared after a pulsating 32-32 draw).
He told League Express after the game that the wheelchair format was about to reach critical mass and the work being done on “sustainable development” could create an explosion in popularity.
Around 500 paying spectators attended the Euro clash at Cabestany, leaving Coyd wide-eyed with ambition.
He said, “It’s been an incredible night, a brilliant game watched by paying spectators here for the first time ever, but it’s just one of many strategic moves we are making to establish the sport.
“This game can go around the world. All you need is some flat indoor space and some wheelchairs.
“It’s three times faster than the running game, three times as many play-the-balls, but it is simply Rugby League in a wheelchair.”
Coyd believes the inclusivity of the code is the key to its future success, comparing it to its nearest rival, wheelchair rugby union.
He said, “Rugby union aligned itself with a sport which was called Murderball and now called Paralympic Rugby. But it’s very much for paraplegics, a round ball, you can pass forward and it only resembles rugby in the collision aspect.
“We play with oval balls, pass backwards, take drop kicks, grubber kicks and score tries in the same way.
“We let anyone in, disabled or not, any age. We have a 60-year-old playing today (Gilles Clausells) who is one of the best players in the world. You could have a 50-year career in this game.”
Coyd was keen to point out that a great deal of development work has been undertaken since the success of the sport’s first ever inclusion in a global tournament.
He said, “The World Cup in 2022 in England was the most amazing exposure for the game, we were live on the BBC and the France v England final was a classic climax for any sport and I think we captured the imagination of the British public.
“This reinforced our strong plans for the wheelchair game and tonight is just one part of many strategic moves currently in play to develop the game.
“The World Cup was such a launchpad. I’ve met so many people who said they watched in on TV and couldn’t take their eyes off it.
“At this stage increased participation is crucial and we noticed after the World Cup that 80 women signed up to play wheelchair Rugby League. So last weekend at the Challenge Cup Final in Sheffield, we had a women’s event where they got quality training and played on the pitch at half-time.
“That in itself generated a lot of enthusiasm and tonight is about establishing a European Championship and I know this will be a success moving forward.
“The idea is to inspire young people, old people, men and women into playing the game and the World Cup raised our ambitions and trajectory.
“We had a crowd of around 500 here tonight for a brilliantly competitive game in what is the first-ever Euro challenge. It’s a great start and Catalans transmitted the match live on YouTube so everyone can see the excitement and passion on show.”
Coyd admitted that the biggest hurdle the sport faces is financial, with the main cost the wheelchairs themselves but the World Cup again had provided a huge boost.
He added, “We’ve had a massive financial investment in wheelchairs from the RL World Cup legacy fund, which enabled us to buy 400 chairs, each costing over £2,000, which allowed us to facilitate new clubs across the UK. For instance, we now have one in Brentwood.
“The barrier was always the cost of the chairs but the barrier has been taken away and the England squad players are spending a lot of time going around communities and helping them set up and get going.
“We are establishing regional hubs, south west, south east, midlands, north west and Yorkshire north, where anybody and everybody can come. Rather than just watch a game, we’ll put on a whole day’s interaction and involvement before the showcase match.
“There will be opportunities for everyone to play a wonderful variant of what I think is still the greatest game.”
Coyd was grateful for the support given by the RFL in his ambitions to spread the game, adding: “We’re getting a lot of support from the Rugby League authorities. Our plan is based upon sustainable growth and exciting competitions.
“We’ve introduced women, we’ve introduced under-16s and now we have a European Championship.
“The growth is accelerating and development has never been at this current pace.
“All our staff are happy volunteers under a small crew at the RFL who are really dedicated but they need that extra assistance provided by committed and willing helpers.
“We had a great event in Sheffield at the English Institute of Sport when Catalans Dragons beat Leeds Rhinos in the Challenge Cup Final in front of a sell-out crowd, broadcast by the BBC with the full support of the RFL.
“We had a trophy game for the Championship clubs and everybody went away and said, ‘how good is this?’
“We will peak this year with the Grand Final in Manchester on Sunday 15th of October which will be televised live on Sky Sports. Leeds Rhinos are looking good but London Roosters are in second at the moment, so it’s brewing up nicely.
“We’ve got a Grand Final in October, Test matches in November, crowds are growing, we had 5,000 for the World Cup game, 440 paying spectators in Sheffield, we’re in the hundreds again here in Perpignan.
“The game is on the verge of a popularity explosion, the only barriers we have are the expense of the chairs. We will work as hard as we can to find that revenue through various channels and sponsorship opportunities.
“I’ve always been excited by Rugby League, I can’t wait to watch Wigan and the Dragons at the Brutus tomorrow in the wonderful city of Perpignan, but there is something about the wheelchair variant where everybody is so humble, friendly and matter-of-fact.
“It’s always been a people’s game and this is a new version of it. Disabled people were excluded from sport for many years but this is the epitome of the inclusive game where anyone can play it.
“Nothing can stop us now; we have the world at our wheels.”
