2021 Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup

2021 (2021) Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup  ()
Number of teams	8
Host country	England
Winner	England (2nd title)
Matches played	15
Attendance	19,450 (1,297 per match)
Tournaments  < 2017 2025 >

The 2021 Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup was the fourth staging of the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup, and was one of three major tournaments part of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. The tournament was held in England from 3 November to 18 November 2022. It was originally planned to be held in November 2021 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England. It was the first occasion on which the wheelchair rugby league competition took place concurrently with the men's and women's tournaments. The competition was also the first time that participants in the wheelchair tournament received the same participation fees as players in the other competitions and the first time that prize money was awarded.

The tournament was won by England who beat France 28–24 in the final on 18 November 2022.

Teams

Qualification

England, as hosts, and France, as holders of the world cup were given automatic entry to the competition. Other nations were invited to submit entries and six were chosen against a range of criteria including current international and domestic infrastructure and plans for growth. The six nations selected to join England and France in the tournament are Australia, Norway, Scotland, Spain, United States and Wales. Norway was replaced by Ireland due to the former being unable to prepare sufficiently for the tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic related issues.

Draw

The teams were drawn into two groups of four. The two seeded teams were England (Group A) and France (Group B). The draw was made at Buckingham Palace on 16 January 2020. Teams from pool 1 were drawn by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, pool 2 was drawn by Katherine Grainger and pool 3 by Jason Robinson. Norway was replaced by Ireland after the draw. The fixtures were announced on 21 July 2020. All the games in the tournament weree played as double headers.

Squads

Each nation named 12-player squads to compete in the tournament.

Venues

Stadium locations

The tournament was played at three venues, the Copper Box Arena in London was used for the Group A games, the English Institute of Sport, Sheffield hosted the Group B games as well as both semi-finals. These venues were confirmed when the revised schedule for the tournament was issued. The final was scheduled for the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool but the postponement of the tournament from 2021 to 2022 resulted in a venue change with the final played in Manchester at Manchester Central.

London Sheffield Manchester Copper Box Arena English Institute of Sport Manchester Central Capacity: 7,481 Capacity: 1,350 Capacity: 10,900 Sheffield London Manchester

The Wheelchair trophy being brought out at the 2021 Rugby League Cup opening ceremony for all three tournaments

Team base camp locations

Two locations were used by the national squads to stay and train before and during the World Cup tournament;

• London: Australia, England, Norway and Spain
• Sheffield: France, Scotland, United States and Wales

Officiating

The match officials for the tournament were announced on 5 October 2022.

• David Butler (England)
• David Roig (France)
• Grant Jackson (Wales)
• Kim Abel (Wales)
• Laurent Abrial (France)
• Matthew Ball (England)
• Ollie Cruickshank (Scotland)
• Steven Hewson (Australia)

Warm-up matches

8 October 2022 14:00 BST (UTC+01:00)

Ireland	52–67	Wales
	Report

Calderdale Leisure Centre, Halifax

26 October 2022 14:00 BST (UTC+01:00)

British Army	v	Australia

Medway Park Sports Centre, Gillingham

29 October 2022 14:00 BST (UTC+01:00)

Wales	38–86	Australia
	Report

Cardiff Met University Cyncoed Campus, Cardiff

31 October 2022 14:00 BST (UTC+01:00)

Scotland	1–129	Australia
	Report

Medway Park Sports Centre, Gillingham

Group stage

Group A

All six matches in group A were played at Copper Box Arena in London.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	England	3	3	0	0	263	20	+243	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Australia	3	2	0	1	136	88	+48	4
3	Spain	3	1	0	2	99	188	−89	2
4	Ireland	3	0	0	3	50	252	−202	0

3 November 2022 17:00 GMT (UTC±00:00)

Ireland	32–55	Spain
Tries: Johnston (4) 31', 46', 50', 78' Roberts 3' McCarthy 65' Goals: Johnston (4)	Report (RLWC) Report (ERL)	Tries: Lacombe 7' Monedero 59' Martin (2) 5', 62' Gonzalez (2) 23', 69' Berty (3) 9', 26', 45' Goals: Gonzalez (8) Seron Drop goals: Gonzalez

Copper Box Arena, London Attendance: 3,033 Referees: Laurent Abrial (France), Kim Abel (Wales) Touch judges: Matthew Ball (England), David Roig (France) Player of the Match: Theo Gonzalez (Spain)

3 November 2022 19:30 GMT (UTC±00:00)

England	38–8	Australia
Tries: Coyd (2) 19', 22' Brown (2) 25', 35' Collins (2) 32', 71' King 47' Goals: Hawkins Collins (4)	Report (RLWC) Report (ERL)	Tries: Karim 10' Goals: Karim McKenna

Copper Box Arena, London Attendance: 3,033 Referees: Ollie Cruickshank (Scotland), David Roig (France) Touch judges: Kim Abel (Wales), Steven Hewson (Australia) Player of the Match: Jack Brown (England)

6 November 2022 12:00 GMT (UTC±00:00)

England	104–12	Spain
Tries: Brown (2) 1', 6' Simpson 13' Boardman (2) 15', 33' Halliwell 21' Hawkins (5) 31', 37', 39', 70', 77' Roberts (3) 41', 47', 74' King 50' Coyd (2) 57', 62' Rigby 67' Goals: Boardman (3/5) Collins (7/7) Roberts (6/6)	Report	Tries: Gonzalez 3' Monedero 8' Goals: Gonzalez (2/3) Drop goals: Gonzalez

Copper Box Arena, London Attendance: 3,268 Referees: Kim Abel (Wales), Laurent Abriel (France) Touch judges: David Roig (France), Grant Jackson (Wales) Player of the Match: Robert Hawkins (England)

6 November 2022 14:30 GMT (UTC±00:00)

Australia	76–18	Ireland
Tries: Karim (2) 6', 74' Tannock 9' McKenna (3) 15', 37', 69' Grove (3) 28', 35', 37' Arbuckle 38' Hill 45' Luff (2) 59', 62' Goals: McKenna (10/10) Karim (2/3)	Report	Tries: Roberts 20' McCarthy (2) 22', 65' Goals: Johnston (3/3)

Copper Box Arena, London Attendance: 3,268 Referees: Matthew Ball (England), Grant Jackson (Wales) Touch judges: Laurent Abrial (France), David Roig (France) Player of the Match: Bayley McKenna (Australia)

9 November 2022 11:00 GMT (UTC±00:00)

Australia	52–32	Spain
Tries: Arbuckle 3' Karim (2) 9', 15' Hill (4) 28', 32', 34', 48' Cory Cannane 62' Grove 72' Goals: McKenna (3/4) Karim (3/6) Craig Cannane (2/2)	Report	Tries: Gonzalez (2) 12', 44' Monedero (2) 22', 76' Lacombe 50' Martin 53' Goals: Gonzalez (3/5) Seron (1/1)

Copper Box Arena, London Attendance: 3,847 Referees: David Butler (England), David Roig (France) Touch judges: Grant Jackson (Wales), Steve Hewson (Australia) Player of the Match: James Hill (Australia)

9 November 2022 13:30 GMT (UTC±00:00)

England	121–0	Ireland
Tries: Bechara (2) 3', 15' Coyd (4) 6', 17', 28', 78' Halliwell (2) 9', 24' Simpson (4) 12', 20', 75', 80' Brown (3) 32', 38', 46' Collins (3) 35', 54', 59' King 62' Rigby (2) 65', 71'	Report

Copper Box Arena, London Attendance: 3,847 Referees: Oliver Cruickshank (Scotland), Grant Jackson (Wales) Touch judges: David Roig (France), Steve Hewson (Australia) Player of the Match: Joe Coyd (England)

Group B

All six matches in group B were played at English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	France	3	3	0	0	350	27	+323	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Wales	3	2	0	1	126	222	−96	4
3	United States	3	1	0	2	100	207	−107	2
4	Scotland	3	0	0	3	92	212	−120	0

4 November 2022 11:00 GMT (UTC±00:00)

France	154–6	Wales
Tries: Alazard (6) 1', 3', 14', 21', 25', 51' Clausells (2) 5', 53' Guttadoro (2) 16', 74' Bourson (5) 10', 18', 23', 33', 45' Penella (3) 19', 37', 48' Abassi (5) 35', 42', 55', 69', 78' Vargas (2) 38', 71' Hivernat 40', 67' Goals: Alazard (13) Guttadoro (4) Penella (6)	Report	Tries: Jones 27' Goals: Halsey

English Institute of Sport, Sheffield Attendance: 1,129 Referees: David Butler (England), Matthew Ball (England) Touch judges: Grant Jackson (Wales), Steven Hewson (Australia) Player of the Match: Lionel Alazard (France)

4 November 2022 13:30 GMT (UTC±00:00)

Scotland	41–62	United States
Tries: Young (4) 6', 13', 17', 67' Grant (2) 22', 51' Blackmore 25' Willans 43' Goals: Willans (4)	Report (RLWC) Report (ERL)	Tries: Johnson (4) 1', 3', 28', 46' Wooloff (2) 20', 31' Lind (2) 34', 40' Townsend (4) 48', 56', 66', 70' Goals: Johnstone (5) Stewart Townsend

English Institute of Sport, Sheffield Attendance: 1,129 Referees: Grant Jackson (Wales), Steven Hewson (Australia) Touch judges: Matthew Ball (England), Ollie Cruickshank (Scotland) Player of the Match: Mackenzie Johnson (United States)

7 November 2022 17:00 GMT (UTC±00:00)

France	80–15	Scotland
Tries: N Clausells (4) 1', 6', 31', 40' Mautz (2) 16', 44' Verdi (2) 19', 55' Vargas (2) 22', 67' Gattadoro 29' Abassi (2) 26', 59' Penella 53' Goals: N Clausells (7/9) Duhalde (5/5)	Report	Tries: Young 13' Mellon 63' Grant 75' Goals: Grant (1/2)

English Institute of Sport, Sheffield Attendance: 1,200 Referees: Steven Hewson (Australia), Ollie Cruickshank (Scotland) Touch judges: Grant Jackson (Wales), David Butler (England) Player of the Match: Arno Vargas (France)

7 November 2022 19:30 GMT (UTC±00:00)

Wales	50–32	United States
Tries: Preece (2) 13', 59' S. Williams (3) 25', 29', 39' Halsey 31' Jones 46' Higgins 61' Trigg-Turner 67' Goals: Halsey (5/6) Higgins (2/3)	Report	Tries: Townsend (4) 8', 19', 54', 72' Johnson 11' Wooloff 36' Goals: Johnstone (3/4) Stewart (1/2)

English Institute of Sport, Sheffield Attendance: 1,200 Referees: David Roig (France), David Butler (England) Touch judges: Matthew Ball (England), Steven Hewson (Australia) Player of the Match: Stuart Williams (Wales)

10 November 2022 11:00 GMT (UTC±00:00)

France	116–6	United States
Tries: Bourson (5) 1', 7', 9', 17', 38' Hivernat (3) 11', 20', 23' Abassi (5) 13', 18', 63', 75', 78' Duhalde (2) 34', 60' G Clausells (3) 41', 45', 51' Mautz 55' N Clausells 58' Alazard 65' Goals: Alazard (9/11) G Clausells (3/4) Duhalde (4/6)	Report	Tries: Johnson 72' Goals: Stewart (1/1)

English Institute of Sport, Sheffield Attendance: 1,129 Referees: Matthew Ball (England), Kim Abel (Wales) Touch judges: David Butler (England), David Roig (France)

10 November 2022 13:30 GMT (UTC±00:00)

Wales	70–36	Scotland
Tries: Trigg-Turner (3) 2', 12', 53' Preece 5' Higgins (4) 16', 46', 48', 74' Lane (2) 34', 78' Jones (2) 36', 42' Goals: Higgins (9/11) M. Williams (2/2)	Report	Tries: Grant (4) 8', 38', 70', 80' Willans 22' Mellon (2) 26', 57' Goals: Willans (1/3) Dan Grant (3/4)

English Institute of Sport, Sheffield Attendance: 1,129 Referees: Laurent Abrial (France), Steve Hewson (Australia) Touch judges: Kim Abel (Wales), Grant Jackson (Wales) Player of the Match: Andrew Higgins (Wales)

Knockout stage

	Semi-finals				Final
	13 November – Sheffield
	France	84
					18 November – Manchester
	Australia	40
					France	24
	13 November – Sheffield
					England	28
	England	125
	Wales	22

Semi-finals

Both semi-finals were played at English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.

13 November 2022 12:00 GMT (UTC±00:00)

France	84–40	Australia
Tries: Guttadoro (3) 1', 5', 60' Bourson (5) 6', 8', 17', 21', 26' N Clausells (2) 28', 78' Abassi (4) 31', 35', 39', 52' Duhalde 75' Goals: Alazard (7/8) G Clausells (5/7)	Report	Tries: Grove (2) 3', 69' Schumacher 13', 58' Karim 41' Luff 62' Craig Cannane 73' Goals: McKenna (4/5) Karim (2/2)

English Institute of Sport, Sheffield Attendance: 1,318 Referees: Ollie Cruickshank (Scotland), David Butler (England) Touch judges: Kim Abel (Wales), Grant Jackson (Wales) Player of the Match: Jeremy Bourson (France)

13 November 2022 14:30 GMT (UTC±00:00)

England	125–22	Wales
Tries: Bechara (4) 2', 4', 7', 32' Coyd (4) 11', 20', 23', 43' Brown (8) 26', 30', 34', 36', 41', 50', 57', 59' Hawkins (2) 28', 77' King 46' Collins 53' Roberts 68' Simpson 75' Goals: Hawkins (7/8) Collins (10/11) Roberts (1/3) Drop goals: Roberts	Report	Tries: Trigg-Turner 17' Preece 49' S. Williams 55' Caron 65' Goals: Preece (1/2) Higgins (2/2)

English Institute of Sport, Sheffield Attendance: 1,318 Referees: Laurent Abriel (France), Matthew Ball (England) Touch judges: David Roig (France), Steven Hewson (Australia) Player of the Match: Jack Brown (England)

Team details

England		Position	Wales
Name	Number		Number	Name
Rob Hawkins	2	Starter	6	Andrew Higgins
Joe Coyd	3	Starter	9	Martin Lane
Seb Bechara	4	Starter	3	Gary Preece 75' to 80'
Lewis King	5	Starter	2	Scott Trigg-Turner
Tom Halliwell (c)	7	Starter	5	Stuart Williams (c)
Nathan Collins	1	Interchange	6	Harry Jones
Jack Brown	6	Interchange	8	Lucie Roberts
Declan Roberts	9	Interchange	12	Alan Caron
Wayne Boardman	10	Interchange	6	Jodie Boyd-Ward
James Simpson	11	Interchange	1	Stephen Halsey
Tom Coyd		Coach		Stephen Jones

Final

The final was played at Manchester Central Convention Complex in Manchester, the day before the men's and women's finals.

18 November 2022 19:30 GMT (UTC±00:00)

France	24–28	England
Tries: Alazard 10' Abassi 29' G Clausells 57' Goals: Alazard (1/1) N Clausells (5/6)	Report	Tries: Halliwell (2) 19', 78' Brown (2) 39', 53' King 42' Goals: Hawkins (1/1) Collins (3/5)

Manchester Central, Manchester Attendance: 4,526 Referees: Ollie Cruickshank (Scotland), Laurent Abrial (France) Touch judges: David Butler (England), David Roig (France) Player of the Match: Tom Halliwell (England)

See also

• 2021 Men's Rugby League World Cup
• 2021 Women's Rugby League World Cup
• Legacy of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2021 Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup.

• Official website