England Wheelchair squad selected for training camp at St George’s Park

England’s Wheelchair Rugby League squad will break more new ground for the sport this autumn when they hold a training camp at St George’s Park, the FA’s National Football Centre in Staffordshire.

And in another huge boost to the squad before they face France at the first direct Arena in Leeds on Sunday November 5 in a rematch of last year’s World Cup Final, head coach Tom Coyd MBE has today confirmed that Jack Brown will be returning from Australia for the second consecutive year.

Brown was the inaugural winner of the Wheelchair Rugby League Golden Boot as the world’s best player in 2020, and although he emigrated to North Queensland the following year, he remained a key figure in England’s set-up during the World Cup campaign.

He will fly in on the week of the match to join the 11 players who have been selected for the training camp at St George’s Park on the weekend of October 28-29.

The squad includes three players who have forced their way into contention since the World Cup – Josh Butler, Jack Heggie and Tom Martin.

Butler was named the Betfred Wheelchair Super League’s Young Player of the Year at the Rugby League Awards Night in Manchester last week after excelling for Leeds Rhinos, while Heggie sealed his first national selection since 2014 by scoring three tries in an impressive display for Wigan Warriors in their Grand Final win against Leeds at the weekend.

Martin is the only uncapped player in the squad although the Halifax Panthers regular has previously represented Ireland at international level.

Six clubs are represented in total with Nathan Collins and Tom Halliwell joining their Leeds team-mate Butler; Joe Coyd and the first winner of the Wheels of Steel as player of the year Lewis King from London Roosters; Adam Rigby joining Heggie from Wigan; Wayne Boardman and Rob Hawkins completing a Halifax trio with Martin; and Nottingham-born, Perpignan-based Sebastien Bechara representing Catalans Dragons, the Betfred Wheelchair Challenge Cup winners in 2023. 

The squad will be narrowed to nine in the week leading up to the France match, with International Wheelchair Rugby League rules now requiring teams to name an eight-player squad for each fixture, in addition to a travelling reserve.

Tom Coyd:

“In addition to congratulating the 12 players selected for the squad to prepare to face France, I want to stress my thanks to the other four members of our Performance Squad for 2023 for their efforts and commitment this year. 

“Ewan Clibbens, Freya Levy, Tristan Norfolk and Jason Owen have all had excellent seasons for their clubs and contributed hugely to our previous squad sessions this year, and they very much remain in our thoughts for the future.

“That’s the toughest part about selecting international squads, and it’s a reflection of the competition for places we now have as the sport continues to thrive following the exposure of last year’s World Cup.

“Having a rematch against France is the perfect stage to maintain that momentum, especially at such an impressive venue, and we are delighted to have arranged a training camp at St George’s Park as we finalise our preparations.

“It has a real wow factor, both in terms of the quality of the facilities but also the prestige of the venue and the success of the teams associated with it.”

Tickets for the England versus France World Cup Final rematch on Sunday November 5 are available for only £10 for adults, £7.50 for concessions, and £5 for under-16s from Wheelchair International (rugby-league.com)

England Wheelchair Rugby League squad for November 5 international against France

(Players are listed with their heritage number, the year of their debut, and their total of international caps)

Seb Bechara (Catalans Dragons) – heritage number 30, debut in 2015, 27 caps.

Wayne Boardman (Halifax Panthers) – heritage number 1, debut in 2008, 20 caps.

Jack Brown (North Queensland) – heritage number 6, debut in 2018, 32 caps.

Josh Butler (Leeds Rhinos) – heritage number 36, debut in 2019, 5 caps. 

Nathan Collins (Leeds Rhinos) – heritage number 33, debut in 2017, 25 caps.

Joe Coyd (London Roosters) – heritage number 22, debut in 2013, 35 caps.

Tom Halliwell (Leeds Rhinos) – heritage number 31, debut in 2015, 29 caps.

Rob Hawkins (Halifax Panthers) – heritage number 37, debut in 2019, 11 caps.

Jack Heggie (Wigan Warriors) – heritage number 15, debut in 2010, 7 caps.

Lewis King (London Roosters) – heritage number 35, debut in 2019, 16 caps.

Tom Martin (Halifax Panthers) – yet to make England debut.

Adam Rigby (Wigan Warriors) – heritage number 8, debut in 2008, 18 caps.