Wheelchair rugby league
Wheelchair rugby league is a wheelchair-based version of rugby league football. It was developed by French rugby league player, coach and official, Robert Fassolette and Wally Salvan in 2004. Unlike other wheelchair sports, people without disabilities are allowed to compete in top level competition.[1]
Rules
The game shares many features with regular rugby league:
- Use of a size 4 rugby ball
- Ball may only be passed backwards
- Each team retains possession for six tackles, after which there is a hand-over
- A modified version of the play-the-ball is used after a tackle
- Same offside rules as rugby league
- The 2006 rules
The game then sees its own particular rules:
- A tackle is counted when we take a tag off a shoulder
- All kicks, penalties, drop outs, conversions, are all done with the fist.
- It is generally played on a handball court, dimensions being 40x20
- There are indoor rugby posts put in place for conversions, drop kicks, and penalty kicks.
World Cup
The inaugural Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup was held at indoor venues in Sydney, Australia in 2008. The 2013 Wheelchair RL World Cup was held in Gillingham, England in July. The 2017 World Cup was held in the south of France in July.
The next World Cup will be held at various venues in England at the same time as the mens and womens able-bodied world cups in 2021 [2].
World Cup summaries
| Year | Host nation(s) | Teams | Final result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Score | Runner-up | |||
| 2008 | Sydney, Australia | 4 |  England |
44 - 12 |  Australia |
| 2013[3] | Gillingham, England | 6 |  France |
44 - 40[4] | England |
| 2017 | France | 7 | France |
38 - 34 | England |