United States national wheelchair rugby league team

Last updated

United States
Team information
NicknameThe Hawks
Governing body USA Rugby League
Region Europe
Head coachGeoff Mason
CaptainJesse Lind
IRL ranking 8th
Team results
First international
Biggest win
62–41 v Scotland (November 4, 2022)
Biggest defeat
6–116 v France (November 10, 2022)
World Cup
Appearances1 (first time in 2021 )
Best result3rd in group, 2021

The United States national wheelchair rugby league team represents the United States in wheelchair rugby league. The team, nicknamed the Hawks, is controlled by USA Rugby League, the governing body for rugby league in the United States. Formed in 2022, the team made its debut at the 2021 Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup finishing third in their group with one victory and two defeats.

Contents

In 2019 the organizers of the 2021 Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup announced the United States as one of the countries invited to participate in the tournament. [1] At the time of the invite there was no national team, so Australian Geoff Mason a former player was recruited to form a team.

2021 World Cup

Following try-outs a squad of 11 domestically based players was chosen and flew to England for the Cup. [2] The squad was captained by Jeff Townsend who had previously played wheelchair basketball and included just one non-disabled player, Micah Johnson. [3] In England the squad was joined by Matthew Wooloff, a player based in the United Kingdom. [3]

The team's first ever competitive match was against Scotland in Sheffield on November 4 with the US winning 62–41 with Mackenzie Johnson being named player of the match. [4]

The second group match was against Wales with the US defeated 32–50 in a hard fought game. [5] The defeat left the US team with a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals but it would require Wales lose their last group game against Scotland while the US team would have to be defending world champions and number 1 seeds, France.

The game against France was a one-sided affair as France ran in 21 tries to win 116–6 with Mackenzie Johnson scoring the only try for the US. [6] Mackenzie Johnson was named in the RLWC2021 Wheelchair Team of the Tournament. [7]

Wales tour to the US

The team played its first matches at home in February 2024 when they hosted a two-match tour by Wales. [8] Both matches were played at the Sports Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Wales won both matches. [9]

Related Research Articles

The Rugby League European Championship is a rugby league football tournament for European national teams that was first held in 1935.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States men's national rugby league team</span> National rugby league team

The United States national rugby league team represents the United States in international rugby league competitions. The team is managed by the USA Rugby League (USARL).

Wheelchair rugby league is a wheelchair-based version of rugby league football, one of two recognised disability versions of the sport. It was developed by French rugby league player, coach, and official, Wally Salvan in 2004. 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.

The Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup is an international wheelchair rugby league tournament contested by the top national teams. The tournament was first held in Australia as part of the 2008 Festival of World Cups and was upgraded to a centrepiece event in 2021.

The England women's national Rugby League team represents England in Women's Rugby League. They are administered by the Rugby Football League. As Great Britain, they toured Australia in 1996, New Zealand in 1998, and reached the first-ever Women's Rugby League World Cup final in 2000, where they lost 26–4 to New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Men's Rugby League World Cup</span>

The 2021 Men's Rugby League World Cup was the 16th Rugby League World Cup, and one of three major tournaments of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. The tournament was held in England from 15 October 2022 to 19 November 2022. It was originally due to be held between 23 October 2021 and 27 November 2021, but the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent withdrawals of Australia and New Zealand caused the tournament to be postponed. 16 teams competed in the tournament, an increase of two from the previous two tournaments and the first to feature 16 teams since the 2000 Rugby League World Cup.

The Canada women's national rugby league team, also known as the Canadian Ravens, represents Canada in international rugby league football tournaments.

The 2021 Men's Rugby League World Cup qualification was the qualifying process which will decide the 8 teams that would join the 8 quarter-finalists from the 2017 World Cup including the hosts England, who received an automatic spot, at the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. The process commenced in June 2018, with the commencement of the 2018–19 Rugby League European Championship C tournament, which acted as the first round for European qualification.

A list of men and women international rugby league matches played throughout 2019 and does not include wheelchair rugby league international matches. A † denotes a recognised, but unofficial match that did not contribute to the RLIF World Rankings.

The 2021 Women's Rugby League World Cup was the sixth staging of the Women's Rugby League World Cup, and was one of three major tournaments part of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. The tournament was held in England from 1 November to 19 November 2022. Originally planned for 2021, it was delayed a year along with the men's and wheelchair tournaments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament featured eight teams, an increase of two from the previous tournament.

The 2021 Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup was the fourth staging of the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup, and was one of three major tournaments part of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. The tournament was held in England from 3 November to 18 November 2022. It was originally planned to be held in November 2021 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England. It was the first occasion on which the wheelchair rugby league competition took place concurrently with the men's and women's tournaments. The competition was also the first time that participants in the wheelchair tournament received the same participation fees as players in the other competitions and the first time that prize money was awarded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Rugby League World Cup</span>

The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament currently played every four years. The first tournament was held in 1954, hosted by France who had pushed for such a tournament to be approved. Since the first edition, 14 others have been held at sporadic intervals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International rugby league in 2022</span>

A list of men and women international rugby league matches played throughout 2022 and does not include wheelchair rugby league international matches. A † denotes a recognised, but unofficial match that did not contribute to the IRL World Rankings.

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 Wheelchair Rugby League Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Rugby League World Cup</span> International rugby league tournaments

The 2021 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC2021) was a collection of world cups in the sport of rugby league, held in England from 15 October to 19 November 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Physical Disability Rugby League World Cup</span>

The 2021 Physical Disability Rugby League World Cup, also known as the 2021 PDRL World Cup, was the first world cup for physical disability rugby league. The tournament was held from 23 October to 30 October 2022 in Warrington, England, alongside the main tournaments of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. The tournament was originally planned as part of the 2021 Festival of World Cups, which was due to take place in the summer of 2021, but was rescheduled following the postponement of the festival. England defeated New Zealand 42–10 in the final to become the first world champions. Third place went to Wales who defeated Australia 32–18 in a play-off.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Vrahnos</span> Greece international rugby league footballer

Adam Vrahnos is a Greece international rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward for the London Broncos in the Betfred Championship.

The Scotland national wheelchair rugby league team represents Scotland in wheelchair rugby league. They have competed at the World Cup, the European Championships and several tournaments within the British Isles, such as the Celtic Cup and Four Nations competitions.

The Wales national wheelchair rugby league team represents Wales in wheelchair rugby league. They have competed at the World Cup, the European Championships and several tournaments within the British Isles, such as the Celtic Cup and Four Nations competitions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ireland national wheelchair rugby league team</span>

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.

References

  1. ↑ "USA confirmed for Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup 2021". usarl.org. July 18, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  2. ↑ Hoge, Sophie Keyes (August 13, 2022). "USA Wheelchair Rugby League prepares for World Cup Championship in England, final practices take place in Columbia". wistv.com. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  3. 1 2 Ibbetson, Stephen (November 6, 2022). "USA wheelchair team's remarkable journey from having no team to winning World Cup opener". TotalRL.com. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Scotland 41 v 62 United States". europeanrugbyleague.com. European Rugby League. November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Wales 50 v 32 United States". europeanrugbyleague.com. European Rugby League. November 7, 2022. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Brave Newcomers Bow Out". Rugby Leaguer & League Express . No. 3354. November 13, 2022. p. 26.
  7. ↑ McAllister, Josh (November 15, 2022). "RLWC2021: Women's and Wheelchair Teams of the Tournament revealed". LoveRugbyLeague. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Wales Wheelchair Rugby League confirm squad for USA tour". ITV News . December 10, 2023. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Wheelchair Fixtures – WRL International Sides". Wales Rugby League. Retrieved February 11, 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.