Seb Bechara

Last updated
Seb Bechara
MBE
Personal information
Full nameSebastien Joseph Bechara
Born1994
Nottingham, England, United Kingdom [1]
Playing information
Club
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
c. 2012/15– Catalans Dragons
Representative
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
c. 2015– England
Medals
Wheelchair rugby league
Representing Flag of England.svg  England
World Cup
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2017 France
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2021 England

Seb Bechara is an English wheelchair rugby league player who currently plays for Catalans Dragons in Elite One Championship and the England national wheelchair rugby league team. He is captain of both club and country.

Contents

In the King's 2023 Birthday Honours he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to wheelchair rugby league football. [1]

Background

Seb Bechara is an disabled wheelchair rugby league player. He was born in Nottingham, England and moved to France aged nine. In adolescence he developed an interest in motorcycling. At aged 18 he suffered a motorcycle accident resulting in an amputation of one of his legs. Following his amputation, Bechara looked into getting into para swimming after watching the 2012 London Paralympics, though a chance meeting with then France captain Cyril Torres saw him take up wheelchair rugby league. [2]

Career

Bechara (hidden in view) with the England national wheelchair rugby league team, celebrating their 2021 World Cup victory at Old Trafford in 2022 England wheelchair rugby league team celebrating at Old Trafford.jpg
Bechara (hidden in view) with the England national wheelchair rugby league team, celebrating their 2021 World Cup victory at Old Trafford in 2022

Club

Seb Bechara has been successful in multiple Elite One Championship campaigns with Catalans Dragons. During the 2015 French off season, Bechara played for Leeds Rhinos. [3] In 2022, Bechara won the second IRL Wheelchair Golden Boot after Jack Brown in 2019. [4] [5] [6] In 2023, Bechara helped Catalans to win the inaugural European Club Challenge against UK champions Halifax after 32–32 draw resulted in a shared title. [7] A few months later he captained Catalans to their first Challenge Cup title after scoring twice in the final, with the club making their debut the UK competition the season prior. [8] 2024 saw Catalans win the European Club Challenge outright, beating Wigan 68–28 with Bechara getting a try in the match. [9] Catalans also retained the Challenge Cup in 2024, again beating Wigan in the final. [10] [11]

International

Seb Bechara represented England at the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup in 2017 [12] where England finished runners-up losing to France in the final. [13] Bechara was named as one of the top 10 players of the tournament. [14] Bechara also represented England in the 2021 tournament, [15] where England finished the tournament as champions, beating France 28–24 in the final. [16] Bechara made team of the tournament. [17]

Honours

Catalans Dragons

England

Individual

Orders

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leeds Rhinos</span> English professional rugby league football club

The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home games at AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium and compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league.

Wheelchair rugby league is a wheelchair-based version of rugby league football, one of two recognised disability versions of the sport. It was developed in France in 2000. Unlike other wheelchair sports, people without disabilities are allowed to compete in top-level competition. The sport is also unique in the fact that men and women of any age can play against each other in top-level competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catalans Dragons</span> French rugby league club

The Catalans Dragons are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. Despite being based in France the club competes in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Hall (rugby league)</span> Great Britain and England international rugby league footballer

Ryan Lee Hall is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a winger for Leeds Rhinos in Super League, and has represented England and Great Britain at international level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richie Myler</span> England and Ireland international rugby league footballer

Richard David Myler is a retired rugby league footballer, who is currently the director of rugby for Hull FC in the Super League. He is a member of the Ireland squad for the delayed 2021 Rugby League World Cup, having declared for Ireland in 2022. Previously he has represented England and the England Knights at international level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Challenge Cup</span> Rugby league knockout cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League

The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's oldest cup competition in either code of rugby. A concurrent Women's Challenge Cup and Wheelchair Challenge Cup have been held since 2012 and 2015 respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liam Farrell</span> England international rugby league footballer

Liam Matthew Farrell is an English rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward for the Wigan Warriors in the Super League, and has played for England at international level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Makinson</span> England international rugby league footballer (born 1992)

Tommy Makinson is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a Fullback and winger for Catalans Dragons in the Super League and England at international level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Welsby</span> England international rugby league player

Jack Welsby is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a fullback, stand-off, centre or winger for St Helens in the Super League and England at international level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Smith (rugby league)</span> England international rugby league footballer

Harry Smith is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a scrum-half and stand-off for the Wigan Warriors in the Super League and both England and the England Knights at international level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wheelchair Challenge Cup</span>

The Wheelchair Challenge Cup is a wheelchair rugby league competition organised by the Rugby Football League.

The England national wheelchair rugby league team represents England in wheelchair rugby league. The team have played in all four World Cup tournaments, winning both the inaugural competition in 2008 and the 2021 edition on home soil, and being runners up in both 2013 and 2017. They also won the 2015 European Rugby League Championship.

The RFL Wheelchair Super League is the highest level of wheelchair rugby league in England and Wales.

The 2017 Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup was the third staging of the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup. The tournament was held from 20 July to 28 July 2017 and was originally planned to be held in Sydney, Australia, as part of the 2017 Festival of World Cups but was relocated to France. The tournament was won by France who defeated England 38–34 in the final in Perpignan to retain the title.

Wigan Warriors Wheelchair Rugby League is an English wheelchair rugby league team based in Wigan, Greater Manchester and is the official wheelchair rugby league team of the Wigan Warriors club. The team competes in the RFL Wheelchair Super League. The club has played its home games at the Robin Park Arena since its formation in 2018 when it was under the name "Wigan and District Wheelchair RL team" until being taken over by Wigan Warriors in 2022.

The Catalans Dragons Wheelchair Rugby League Football Club are a French wheelchair rugby league club based in Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales. The club competes in the Elite 1 Championship, the top tier of the French rugby league system.

Jérémy Bourson is a French wheelchair rugby league player who currently plays for Catalans Dragons in Elite One Championship and the France national wheelchair rugby league team.

James Simpson is an English former soldier of the British Army and wheelchair rugby league player, and current wheelchair rugby league coach who is currently the head coach of Leeds Rhinos in the RFL Wheelchair Super League whom he spend his entire playing career. He also had an extensive international career representing the England national wheelchair rugby league team.

Gilles Clausells is a French wheelchair rugby league player who currently plays for Catalans Dragons in Elite One Championship and the France national wheelchair rugby league team of whom he is the captain.

Nicolas Clausells is a French wheelchair rugby league player who currently plays for Catalans Dragons in Elite One Championship and the France national wheelchair rugby league team.

References

  1. 1 2 "Local hero Seb Bechara awarded MBE!". anglophone-direct.com. 20 June 2023. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  2. ↑ Bower, Aaron (17 November 2022). "'We're getting stopped in the streets': Wheelchair rugby league enchants England". The Guardian. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  3. ↑ "Rhinos sign Bechara". Spider-Y. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016.
  4. ↑ "Dragons Catalans › News › 2022 › Nov. › Sébastien Bechara wins Golden Boot award". catalansdragons.com. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  5. ↑ "Rugby League World Cup: Seb Bechara among Golden Boot winners | England stars make teams of tournament | Rugby League News". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  6. ↑ "England's Sebastien Bechara wins coveted Wheelchair Golden Boot". rugby-league.com. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  7. ↑ "Wheelchair Rugby League European Club Challenge". rugby-league.com. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  8. ↑ "Catalans Dragons 66-20 Leeds Rhinos: French side clinch Wheelchair Challenge Cup final victory | Rugby League News". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  9. ↑ "Warriors beaten in Wheelchair European Championship". Wigan Warriors. 6 April 2024. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  10. ↑ "Wheelchair Challenge Cup final: Catalans Dragons 81-18 Wigan Warriors - BBC Sport". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  11. ↑ "Classy Catalans take Sheffield by storm to retain Beftred Wheelchair Challenge Cup trophy". rugby-league.com. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  12. ↑ "England Wheelchair RL announce World Cup squad". rugby-league.com. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  13. ↑ "Des Guerriers d'Exception!". ffr13.fr. 29 July 2017. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  14. ↑ "Classement Final Coupe du Monde – Les 10 meilleurs joueurs" [World Cup Final Standings – Top 10 Players]. FFRXIII (in French). 29 July 2017. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
  15. ↑ "Rugby League World Cup 2021: Official wheelchair squads". NRL.com. 3 October 2022. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  16. ↑ "England beat France to win Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup - reaction". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  17. ↑ "World Cup Teams of the Tournament announced". NRL. 16 November 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.