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Captain Jayson Hooker (centre) and the Wheel Kiwis are being included in next year’s Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\nCaptain Jayson Hooker (centre) and the Wheel Kiwis are being included in next year’s Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
The Wheel Kiwis are hoping their inclusion at next year\u2019s Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup will bring more eyes to one of the most inclusive and diverse sports there is.<\/p>\n
The team are fairly new, having played their first match just 13 months ago against Australia\u2019s Wheelaroos, but New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) boss Greg Peters has ambitious ideas for the sport, which has surged in popularity since the last World Cup in 2022.<\/p>\n
That was because more people were watching the sport as it ran alongside the men\u2019s and women\u2019s tournaments for the first time in England, forcing the International Rugby League to do the same for next year\u2019s tournament in Australia.<\/p>\n
But the uniqueness of the sport is also captivating. It pits disabled and non-disabled, male and female, on the same teams, while it\u2019s an adaptation of the running game with many of the same rules, where tackles are made by removing tags from the opponents\u2019 shoulders, and play-the-balls involve tapping it on the ground.<\/p>\n
Each game is made up of two 40-minute halves and generally played on a 46m x 20m court, with five players on each team and tries \u2013 worth four points \u2013 are scored by grounding a smaller version of a league ball in the opponent\u2019s goal area. There are no forward passes and plenty of hard hits at lightning speed, while kicks are performed with an AFL-style pass.<\/p>\n
Out of the five players on the court at any given time, two can be non-disabled.<\/p>\n
In terms of a sport, it\u2019s relatively young, having been devised in 2000 in France, but after seeing the success of the last World Cup, Peters knew it was time New Zealand got involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we saw how it exploded on to the scene, really, and now it\u2019s a full-blown World Cup alongside men\u2019s and women\u2019s,\u201d Peters told the Herald.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe knew we needed to be part of that because, as a high-capability rugby league nation, we should be fielding a team in all World Cups that are available for us to do so.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe game is unique in that you can have able-bodied people playing with disabled people on the same court, which makes it fully inclusive, plus the physicality and the nature of it … [makes it] a great entertainment spectacle too.\u201d<\/p>\n
New Zealand\u2019s participation in the wheelchair sport was 16 years in the making, after plans for them to participate in the inaugural 2008 tournament fell through.<\/p>\n
But after seeing the World Cup, the Warriors Community Foundation joined forces with the NZRL, Auckland Rugby League, Counties Manukau Rugby League and Disability Sport Auckland for a have-a-go day, and the wheels in motion have been in place since.<\/p>\n
That led to the creation of the Wheel Kiwis, and Edie George was tasked with coaching the squad, after initially just reaching out to offer a helping hand.<\/p>\n
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Wheel Kiwis coach Edie George. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
George has been involved in the sport since 2013, which began while working at a rehab centre in Sydney. He began playing before moving up the ranks, eventually, serving as an assistant for Australia at the last World Cup.<\/p>\n
It was a tough start at the beginning, with George having to teach the basics to all the players, because most of the squad had never played the sport before.<\/p>\n
They took to the court for the first time on November 1, 2024, on Auckland\u2019s North Shore, going down 98-4 to the Wheelaroos and again 110-8 days later.<\/p>\n
But 12 months later, they\u2019ve progressed in leaps and bounds \u2013 the team won three of their six matches at the NRL\u2019s Wheelchair championship against Australian states.<\/p>\n
George said he\u2019s grateful for the opportunities the sport has given him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never thought I\u2019d be in this position, ever,\u201d George said. \u201cOnce I started coaching, I fell in love, and it\u2019s a huge honour to be able to coach a team into the World Cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll be proud of it for the rest of my life, and [it\u2019s] something that I\u2019ll always cherish and appreciate.<\/p>\n
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Dan Scott uses a modified kicking tee in a wheelchair rugby league clash. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to grow the participation at grassroots level in New Zealand, and to be competitive as we can in the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n
George said he\u2019s always blown away by the skills of the players involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn rugby league, when you take a hit-up, you\u2019re running, focusing on catching the ball and hitting the gap,\u201d George said. \u201cIn wheelchair rugby league, it\u2019s completely different.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re pushing with your arms, the ball\u2019s coming toward you, and you have to let go of the chair, manoeuvre it as you catch the ball, then secure it in your lap and keep pushing all while avoiding contact.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re starting to showcase that despite the sport being played in a wheelchair, you can still showcase talents of rugby league skills.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are athletes, and they should be treated as athletes as well. So, by having men\u2019s, women\u2019s, wheelchair all together, that\u2019s, you know, will be a huge boost for the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plans are in place to stage an open tournament in New Zealand next year for anybody who wants to try the sport, and possibly put their hand up for future representation of the Wheel Kiwis.<\/p>\n
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Greg Peters speaks to the players of the Wheel Kiwis. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
Peters admits they are in the early stages of developing the sport in New Zealand, but says they are on the right track for future success.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s ambitious about where he would love to see the sport in five years with the hope of having a domestic league across New Zealand, aligned with local clubs.<\/p>\n
Countries like England and France have already established domestic competitions, with some Super League clubs entering their own sides, players earning MBEs for their services to the sport, and thousands of fans turning out to watch.<\/p>\n
But there is one goal Peters would love to tick off.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d love to sell out Spark Arena for a wheelchair rugby league spectacle,\u201d Peters said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s just an amazing entertainment sport, and it has the ability to wrap other things around it, like music, and make it a real entertainment spectacle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d encourage anyone that hasn\u2019t seen it, have a look on YouTube and see what it\u2019s like, because it\u2019s an amazing sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want the sport to be as accessible to as many people as possible, and adding the Wheel Kiwis to the teams that represent New Zealand overseas and at World Cups and internationally is a really important part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
New Zealand have been drawn in Pool B, alongside Australia, France and Scotland for the World Cup, with all matches taking place in Wollongong.<\/p>\n