Wheelchair Rugby League

Building on the success of England Wheelchair’s World Cup success in 2021, the development of our Wheelchair RL programme has catapulted.

Our first team were victorious in the League Leaders Shield and runners up in the Challenge Cup and Betfred Super League Grand Final, highlighting a successful year for the side.

2023 also saw the launch of our Wheelchair Development and Junior programmes, providing an opportunity for people of all ages to try the sport, no matter of initial ability or disability, with all sessions being hosted on a Wednesday evening at Leeds Beckett University.

Training sessions are open to players of all abilities, with sports chairs provided for participants to use!

Wheelchair Rugby League remains faithful to the sport of rugby league but obviously the use of wheelchairs means that there are some changes to the rules of the game.

The playing area is a hard surface or court, such as a sports hall, ideally 18-22 metres wide and 40-45 metres long, whilst the ball is a standard size 4 rugby league ball, slightly deflated. Each team should consist of 5 players and up to 5 substitutes.

The standard 10 metre measurement in rugby league such as 10 metre lines, 20 metre restarts and such are replaced by units of 4 metres. There are no scrums in WRL, they are replaced by a tap restart and all kicking is done by hand, utilizing the top of a closed fist, with contact being made by the area around the thumb and forefinger.

Points are awarded as per rugby league, with conversions / penalty goals being taken from an extended kicking tee, which must be no higher than the wheel of the kicker.

But, above all else, Wheelchair Rugby League is great fun and highly accessible – come along and watch or give the sport a try!

For more information about how to get involved with Leeds Rhinos Wheelchair Rugby League, please email disability@leedsrhinosfoundation.org.