France, England, Ireland and Spain have named their squads for a celebration of wheelchair rugby league, to be played for the first time in the north of France.
In a double header on Thursday 21 November at the CREPS des Pays de la Loire in Nantes, England will play Spain (kick off 5pm local time) with France taking on Ireland afterwards (kick off 8pm)
Then on Saturday 23 November, England and France will meet again for the Fassolette-Kielty Trophy at Pole Hippique, Saint Lo (kick off 5pm), England the holders after their 66-33 win in Wigan at the end of October.
France and England have named extended squads for their two fixtures. “It’s an extremely important week for French wheelchair rugby league,” said head coach Cyril Torres. “We have a mix of youth and experience and it will be our goal to see some new caps awarded for the game in Nantes against Ireland, and for the performance against England to have a determination to do better than in Wigan. We are also looking forward to promoting our sport in the Loire-Atlantique and Manche regions.”
England wheelchair head coach, Tom Coyd, is expecting to use all sixteen players selected, with Jack Brown returning from Australia for the headline game: “It’s been great for us to be able to work with France, Spain and other authorities to come up with three international fixtures,” Coyd commented. “The home game against France, our first in Wigan and live again on BBC Sport, was a fantastic occasion.
“As a coach, it’s brilliant for me to able to have a short tour with two fixtures allowing our England Performance Squad to enjoy that unique experience of representing their country abroad – and spreading the word about wheelchair rugby league. We’re only two years away from defending the World Cup in Australia, and that makes these matches even more important.”
Over half of Ireland’s squad to face France are players who featured in the first domestic game in the country earlier this month when Leinster defeated Munster. Mel Griffith (who also represents Ireland at Para-Badminton) and James McCarthy, a two-times Paralympian who has pulled on the Ireland shirt in six sports, are expected to add further caps.
“We are very proud of the development of wheelchair RL in Ireland this year,” noted Ireland head coach Phil Roberts. “The squad is continually growing and on the back of this year's Celtic Cup success, our team are looking forward to testing themselves against players who have come through a strong system in a well-established domestic competition. This will be a step up in intensity for much of the squad who are all excited for the opportunity on the road to RLWC 2026.”
Spain will take to the pitch for the first time since their Rugby League World Cup campaign concluded in 2022, which included a group match with England that saw Rob Hawkins cross for five tries, as part of a plan to rebuild Spanish Rugby League. They intend to add to their squad next week as player availability is confirmed.
AERL interim director, Dean Buchan, said: “We’re eagerly anticipating this upcoming match against England as a valuable opportunity to test our abilities and measure our progress. After a couple of years of reduced activity, we are fully committed to re-establishing Spanish Rugby League, building on the strong foundation of our wheelchair team which, continues to be a shining light of the sport here.”
FRANCE SQUAD
Pierre Botte, Thomas Duhalde, Julien Pennella (Aingirak Euskadi), Jeremy Bourson, Gilles Clausells, Nicolas Clausells, Damien Dore, Panzo Gelade, Jonathan Hivernat, Leo Hivernat, Victor Puly, Arno Vargas (Catalans Dragons), Lionel Alazard (Montauban Handisport), Thomas Candela, Lisa Lartigue (Rfc Toulon), Guillaume Dubruel (Stade Toulousain Olympique), Florian Guttadoro, Adrien Zittel (So Avignon Handi)
ENGLAND SQUAD
Seb Bechara MBE (Catalans Dragons), Wayne Boardman, Rob Hawkins, Nathan Holmes (Halifax Panthers), Tristan Norfolk (Hull FC), Josh Butler, Nathan Collins, Tom Halliwell OBE (Leeds Rhinos), Mason Billington, Joe Coyd, Lewis King, Jason Owen (London Roosters) Jack Brown (North Queensland Cowboys), Chris Haynes (Sheffield Eagles), Jack Heggie (Wigan Warriors), Adam Rigby (Wigan Warriors)
IRELAND SQUAD
Cian Horgan, James McCarthy, Maurice Noonan (Munster), Joseph Calcott (Halifax Panthers), Matt Wooloff, Phil Roberts, Toby Burton Carter (Wigan Warriors), Melanie Griffith, Oran Spain (Leinster), Peter Johnston (Argonauts).
SPAIN SQUAD
Eric Perez, Anthony Martin (Biganos Eagles), Joe Lacombe, Mathieu Monedero, Pascal Ambrosino, (Catalans Dragons), Wil Seron, Yannick Martin (Mountauban Pandas)