When your sport is sandwiched in between the Chemical Brothers and the Prodigy on the bill at one of the biggest arenas in the country, you know you’re doing something right. Wheelchair rugby league has thrust its way into the mainstream over the past year or so and never has that felt more apparent than here, on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Leeds.
As recently as two years ago, the sport’s biggest games were being played in local sports halls in front of nobody but after England’s victory at the Rugby League World Cup last year the sport has boomed. One week ago the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra topped the bill at Leeds Arena but now it was the turn of England’s wheelchair team in front of a crowd of several thousand fascinated spectators against a France side they defeated last November to become world champions and create a mainstream buzz.
The stars of that win – including players such as Sebastien Bechara and the captain, Tom Halliwell – were awarded MBEs. The Princess of Wales is a fan having attended a training session and on the eve of this game, the squad were presented their shirts by the former England footballer Stuart Pearce, one of many who has fallen in love with the game.
It is a fascinating, all-action variation of league. There are disabled and non-disabled players on both teams but all are confined to a wheelchair where tackles are made by removing tags from the opponents’ shoulders. It produces eye-watering collisions, remarkable skill and perhaps crucially, gives the sport the chance to shine in major indoor arenas like this one in Leeds, following the theme of other sports such as darts.
But above all it gives people who otherwise would be reduced to the role of spectator a chance to play the game. Take Nathan Collins, born in Leeds with a form of dwarfism, whose introduction midway through the first half received a thunderous cheer in his home town.
The sport has been a hidden gem for the past decade but its newfound popularity is not consigned to this crowd of almost 3,000, who saw France win an entertaining rematch of last year’s final 43-34. At ground level, participation has risen 71% in the past year alone, with England’s success laying the foundations for more people to play the game.
It is the essence of what league prides itself on: inclusivity. But the wheelchair variant of the game also opens doors in areas the running game hasn’t been able to force through. This year new teams and thriving participation numbers have emerged in areas such as Edinburgh and Cardiff, as well as numerous places in the south of England where there is no other league presence.
If league really wants to grab a presence outside its heartlands, perhaps this version of the game is the way to do it. There are plans for the Wheelchair Super League next season to be played in more eye-catching venues, with enough of a foothold among traditional league supporters to anticipate crowds continuing to rise, and more newcomers that perhaps were not rugby league fans to begin with attending, too.
TV coverage has also helped that boom. This Test was showcased on the BBC either side of a Women’s Super League game and an FA Cup tie in a primetime Sunday afternoon slot and, while rising participation numbers are fantastic, the one thing that really gives the wheelchair game a chance to expose itself to millions of people is terrestrial television.
The challenge for the sport now: what next? Does wheelchair rugby league try to remain true to the reason behind its origins; giving people an opportunity to play the sport who otherwise wouldn’t be able to? Or is there a concerted effort towards pushing the game commercially, attracting bigger sponsors and having more afternoons like these, in world-class arenas.
The ideal scenario would be for both those outcomes to come to fruition. Sunday proved once again that wheelchair rugby league is enjoying a boom period: what happens next will define where the sport’s ceiling is.
