From Nottingham to Australia – England Wheelchair host Invitational Festival to spread the net ahead of 2026 World Cup

Further details of the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup in Australia next autumn have provided a fresh focus for England Head Coach Tom Coyd MBE ahead of an Invitational Festival in Nottingham this weekend which itself represents a new approach for the reigning world champions.

The outstanding Parasports facilities of the University of Nottingham to the west of the city centre will provide the setting for the established nucleus of Coyd’s squad to be joined by emerging talent from the expanding Wheelchair Rugby League Championship, and also a sprinkling of established athletes from other Wheelchair sports who have expressed interest in the talent transfer programme which was launched by England Wheelchair Rugby League last year.

Jack Brown, the first Wheelchair Rugby League Golden Boot winner in 2020, will join the Festival following confirmation of his return “home” to Halifax Panthers in 2025 after several years in Queensland, where he has played a leading role in the rapid development of Wheelchair Rugby League in Australia – with Coyd excited by the impact of his return to the Betfred Wheelchair Super League.

“There’s such an exciting period coming up for Wheelchair Rugby League, which we saw with the announcement from the IRL this week about the 2026 World Cup,” said Coyd.

“Defending our title in Australia has been a long-term goal that we discussed pretty soon after we won the last World Cup Final in Manchester, and everything we hear about the NRL’s commitment to the tournament and to the development of Wheelchair Rugby League, from Jack Brown among others, makes us even more excited about that prospect.

“It’s great for Wales, our old rivals France, and especially the USA that they have now been confirmed by the IRL for next year’s competition – and it makes sense for New Zealand’s Wheel Kiwis to be included also after the way they have developed over the last 12 months, which has been another really positive development for the sport.

“It’s all part of the same story we’ve seen in England over the last few years with more players, teams and now nations coming to Wheelchair Rugby League – and our Invitational Festival in Nottingham this weekend is very much along those lines.

“We’ve always been determined that our England set-up won’t be a closed shop. We showed that last year with guys like Chris Haynes from Sheffield Eagles and Mason Billington from London Roosters coming from pretty much nowhere to play huge parts in our international programme.

“One of the things I’m most excited about by this weekend’s Festival is that we’ll have other players, men and women, who are aiming to follow in their footsteps – whether from Championship clubs as Sheffield were last year, or other talent transfer athletes who have seen what Mason has done as a former rugby union and Wheelchair Basketball player, and have been inspired to have their own crack at Wheelchair Rugby League.

“The profile we gained with the World Cup win in 2022, and the progress we’ve made since, has made a lot of people from outside Rugby League sit up and take notice. I think the whole sport should celebrate that.”

The 2025 campaign gets underway in earnest next month with the Betfred Wheelchair Challenge Cup, following Castleford’s impressive victory in the Challenge Trophy in York last weekend – with the expanded Super League, this year including Sheffield Eagles and Edinburgh Giants, kicking off on the weekend of June 20-21, after the Cup Final in Wigan the previous weekend.

Coyd’s England programme will continue with a Tri-Series event in York next month, after which the 2025 Performance Squad will be selected – with details expected to be confirmed in the coming weeks about an Ashes tour of Australia this autumn.