Two slightly new names for England Wheelchair Rugby League had a double reason to celebrate when last autumn’s World Cup winners gathered for a training weekend at the University of York.
Head Coach Tom Coyd and captain Tom Halliwell each had three initials added on Friday night before the session kicked off the following morning – with Coyd awarded the MBE, and Halliwell the OBE, in the King’s Birthday Honours for their services to Wheelchair Rugby League.
Those services continued with the latest of the open training sessions which Coyd has introduced this year as part of his mission – shared by the whole squad – to capitalise on the unprecedented opportunities presented by the World Cup triumph.
And it was the uplifting success of the York session which gave Coyd, Halliwell and all the other England players and staff an additional reason to smile.
“We wanted to lift the cloak on how a world class team trains – and even better than that, give people an opportunity to taste Wheelchair Rugby League for the first time, and to get coached by the stars of the game,” said Coyd, still only 27, whose award made headlines well beyond traditional Rugby League territory in his native Kent to offer further evidence of the national appeal of the Wheelchair game.
“We’ve found a perfect venue at the University of York. They have really bought into the concept, the facilities are excellent, and the Knights and their Foundation already have a Wheelchair team training every Monday night, recognising it’s another addition to a club which has really thrived in recent years.”
Halliwell, the Leeds Rhinos star who is a couple of years Coyd’s junior, added: “It’s just amazing to see so many people in chairs and getting amongst it.”
Reflecting on his award, Halliwell said: “We always wanted to use the World Cup as a platform to get more people playing and watching Wheelchair Rugby League. This is the cherry on the top for me.
“The hard thing has been having to keep it quiet for so long. Then suddenly on Friday at 1030 my phone was pinging and pinging and pinging, and it hasn’t really stopped.”
Coyd and Halliwell were two of four members of the World Cup winning squad to be recognised, with Halliwell’s Rhinos coach James Simpson and Golden Boot winner Seb Bechara also receiving the MBE.
Neither of them was at the York camp, with Simpson’s retirement as a player after the World Cup allowing him to attend Hull’s televised Challenge Cup tie against St Helens on Saturday – where he was the first of the honoured quartet to be interviewed, during the BBC coverage – and Bechara spending the weekend hiking at home in France, where he recently helped Catalans Dragons to another domestic title.
But they were both in Coyd’s thoughts, as he said: “It’s just amazing recognition for Wheelchair Rugby League – with Seb, James and Tom getting recognised as well. The accolades and the awards keep coming for what we did last year.”
And for both Coyd and Halliwell, there was a final slice of good news on Monday evening, after they’d returned to Kent and Leeds respectively – with York reporting six new faces at their weekly training session.
This weekend, attention returns to the domestic game, and the latest Magic Round of the season in Manchester - with Coyd bringing his London Roosters north to face Wigan Warriors, and Halliwell’s Rhinos taking on the champions Halifax Panthers in a repeat of last year’s thrilling Grand Final.
Entry is free at the National Basketball Performance Centre in Belle Vue, and the Roosters-Wigan game kicks off the action at midday.
