Ireland
Badge of Ireland team
Team information
Governing bodyRugby League Ireland
RegionEurope
Head coachDamian McCabe[1]
IRL ranking5th
Team results
First international
World Cup
Appearances2 (first time in 2013)
Best result5th, 2013

The Ireland national wheelchair rugby league team represents Ireland in wheelchair rugby league. They have competed at the World Cup, the European Championships, the Celtic Cup and Four Nations competitions.

History

In July 2012 Ireland took part their first international competition, the Four Nations, a round-robin tournament between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.[2][3] The tournament was held as part of preparations for the world cup taking place the following year.[4] At the 2013 World Cup Ireland lost their matches against Wales and England. A win against Scotland was not enough to progress to the semi-finals, but they defeated Scotland in a play-off to take fifth place.[5] Ireland finished second at the 2014 Four Nations.[6] In 2015 Ireland played Scotland in the first Celtic Cup which was contested over two matches[7] but became an annual three-team round-robin with the addition of Wales in 2016.[8][9] At the 2015 European Championships their only group stage win was against Wales, but with a play-off win over Scotland they took third place in the tournament.[10][11] In 2016 Ireland were unable to travel with a full team for the Four Nations so their place was filled by a mixed team of Irish, Welsh and English players known as the Exiles.[12] At the 2021 World Cup Ireland were not initially selected to take part but were brought in to replace Norway who had withdrawn from the tournament.[13] Ireland were knocked out at the group stage after losses to Spain and Australia[1] before suffering a record defeat (0–121) in their final match against England.[14]

Squad

Ireland squad for 2021 World Cup
First team squad Coaching staff
  • Toby Burton-Carter (vc)
  • Tom Martin
  • Rick Rodgers
  • Stephen Campbell
  • Paddy Forbes
  • Kenneth Maloney
  • Scott Robertson
  • Peter Johnston (c)
  • Phil Roberts
  • James McCarthy
  • Oran Spain
  • Nash Jennings

Head coach

  • Damian McCabe


Legend:
  • (c) Captain(s)
  • (vc) Vice-captain(s)

Updated: 3 October 2022
Source(s): [15]


Competitive record

World Cup

World Cup Record
Year Finish
Australia 2008 Did not enter
England 2013 5th
France 2017 Did not enter
England 2021 Group stage

Celtic Cup

Celtic Cup Record[Note 1]
Year Opponent Finish Ref.
Scotland Wales
2015 W / W — 1st [7]
2016 D L 2nd [16][17]
2017 W L 2nd [18][19]
2018 W L 2nd [20][21]
2019 L L 3rd [22][23]
2020 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic [24]
2021 W L 2nd [25][26]
2022 W L 2nd [27][28]
2023 W D 2nd [29][30]

Results

Date Opponent Score Competition Ref.
7 July 2012  England 12–34 2012 Four Nations [31]
7 July 2012  Wales 4–44 [32]
8 July 2012  Scotland 14–8 [33]
3 July 2013  Wales 6–104 2013 World Cup Group stage [5]
6 July 2013  England 6–36 [5]
9 July 2013  Scotland 26–6 [5]
13 July 2013  Australia 36–14 2013 World Cup 5th place play-off [5]
13 September 2014  Wales 58–10 2014 Four Nations [6]
14 September 2014  England 2–54
14 September 2014  Scotland 60–10 [34]
18 April 2015  Scotland 52–28 2015 Celtic Cup [35]
25 May 2015  Scotland 80–48 [7]
9 August 2015  Wales 46–29 Friendly [10]
24 September 2015  Scotland 16–32 2015 European Championship [36]
24 September 2015  France 8–100 [37]
25 September 2015  England 16–66 [38]
26 September 2015  Wales 46–36 [10]
26 September 2015  Scotland 20–16 2015 European Championship 3rd place play-off [36]
30 April 2016  Wales 26–76 2016 Celtic Cup [16]
30 April 2016  Scotland 58–58 [39]
29 April 2017  Scotland 26–16 2017 Celtic Cup [19]
29 April 2017  Wales 6–51 [18]
28 April 2018  Scotland 68–36 2018 Celtic Cup [21]
28 April 2018  Wales 30–84 [20]
27 April 2019  Wales 8–109 2019 Celtic Cup [22]
27 April 2019  Scotland 42–52 [23]
12 June 2021  Scotland 52–32 2021 Celtic Cup [26]
12 June 2021  Wales 16–96 [25]
16 October 2021  Wales 48–62 Friendly [25]
7 May 2022  Wales 22–64 2022 Celtic Cup [27]
7 May 2022  Scotland 38–35 [28]
18 June 2022  Scotland 52–22 Friendly [28]
8 October 2022  Wales 52–67 Friendly [27]
3 November 2022  Spain 32–55 2021 World Cup Group stage [40]
6 November 2022  Australia 18–76 [41]
9 November 2022  England 0–121 [14]
18 June 2023  Scotland 58–24 2023 Celtic Cup [30]
18 June 2023  Wales 30–30 [29]

Records

IRL Wheelchair World Rankings
Official rankings as of December 2023
Rank Change Team Pts %
1 Steady  England 100
2 Steady France France 88
3 Steady  Wales 59
4 Steady  Australia 48
5 Steady  Ireland 42
6 Steady  Scotland 31
7 Steady Spain Spain 22
8 Steady  United States 19
9 Steady Italy Italy 0
Complete rankings at INTRL.SPORT

Honours

Notes

  1. ^ The first Celtic Cup took place in 2015 between Scotland and Ireland. Wales joined in 2016 to create a three-team tournament.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b "Awesome Australia soar past Ireland". RLWC2021. 6 November 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  2. ^ "England win Wheelchair Four Nations". European Rugby League. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Wheelchair Fixtures: 2012". Wales Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  4. ^ "Hull hosts Wheelchair Rugby League 4 Nations". European Rugby League. 3 July 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Wheelchair World Cup". rugbyleague.wales. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Wheelchair Fixtures: 2014". Wales Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d "Scotland 48–80 Ireland". European Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Celtic Cup". Scotland Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  9. ^ "Wales set sights on sixth straight Celtic Cup". Everything Rugby League. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  10. ^ a b c "Wheelchair Fixtures: 2015". Wales Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  11. ^ "Ireland seal third–place at Wheelchair Rugby League European Championships". The Irish Post. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  12. ^ "Exiles Wheelchair 62v24 SCOT Wheelchair". Scotland Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  13. ^ Pavitt, Michael (7 March 2022). "Ireland replace Norway in Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup line-up". Inside the Games. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  14. ^ a b c "England Wheelchair 121-0 Ireland Wheelchair". RLWC2021. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  15. ^ "Rugby League World Cup 2021: Official wheelchair squads". NRL.com. 3 October 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  16. ^ a b "Wheelchair Fixtures: 2016". Wales Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  17. ^ "Wheelchair Fixtures: 2016". Scotland Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  18. ^ a b "Wheelchair Fixtures: 2017". Wales Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  19. ^ a b "Wheelchair Fixtures: 2017". Scotland Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  20. ^ a b "Wheelchair Fixtures: 2018". Wales Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  21. ^ a b "Wheelchair Fixtures: 2018". Scotland Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  22. ^ a b "Wheelchair Fixtures: 2019". Wales Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  23. ^ a b "Wheelchair Fixtures: 2019". Scotland Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  24. ^ "The Wheelchair Rugby League Celtic Cup returns to Scotland". Scotland Rugby League. 11 February 2021. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  25. ^ a b c "Wheelchair Fixtures: 2021". Wales Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  26. ^ a b "Wheelchair Fixtures: 2021". Scotland Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  27. ^ a b c "Wheelchair Fixtures: 2022". Wales Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  28. ^ a b c "Wheelchair Fixtures: 2022". Scotland Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  29. ^ a b "Wheelchair Fixtures: 2023". Wales Rugby League. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  30. ^ a b "Wheelchair Fixtures: 2023". Scotland Rugby League. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  31. ^ "Ireland 34–34 England". European Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  32. ^ "Wales 44–4 Ireland". European Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  33. ^ "Ireland 14–8 Scotland". European Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  34. ^ a b "Wheelchair Fixtures: 2014". Scotland Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  35. ^ "Scotland 28–52 Ireland". European Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  36. ^ a b "Wheelchair Fixtures: 2015". Scotland Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  37. ^ "Ireland 48–80 France". European Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  38. ^ "Ireland 16–66 England". European Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  39. ^ "IRE Wheelchair 58v58 SCOT Wheelchair". Scotland Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  40. ^ "Spain 55–32 Ireland". European Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  41. ^ "Australia 76–18 Ireland". European Rugby League. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
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