NOTABLE DEVELOPMENTS IN THE WHEELCHAIR GAME
Talking Grassroots with PHIL HODGSON
ANY NEWS ON AMATEUR RUGBY LEAGUE?
Contact Phil Hodgson on 07786 980909 or email: philhodgson2@aol.co.uk
THE 2025 Wheelchair Celtic Cup, which is taking place in Cardiff on Saturday when hosts Wales will entertain Ireland and Scotland in what promises to be an entertaining tri-series, has been making positive headlines before it has started.
History will be made, because two people, both former Wheelchair internationals, will be refereeing a Wheelchair international match from a wheelchair, something no one has done before.
As a firm believer in the adage that those who have experienced playing the game can bring extra understanding to the role (which is not to say that folk who haven’t ever run a ball in or made a tackle cannot become top officials), it’s good to see.
I’m sure Adam Rigby and Harry Jones will do very well – not just this weekend, but well beyond – while it’s also gratifying that Brogan Evans will break new ground by adding a Wales Wheelchair cap to her Women’s cap.
These are great developments, perhaps made possible by the fact that giants England are naturally not included in the Celtic Cup, which helps further pave the way for exceptional achievements by the Irish, Scottish and Welsh.
There’s plenty going on at the moment, in fact, at representative level, not least in the President’s Cup, which will reach a thrilling climax in mid-June when holders England Universities meet UK Armed Forces in Hull (exactly where has yet to be divulged – I hadn’t known, until after last Wednesday’s game between UKAF and Great Britain Teachers, that London was no longer the venue for the last game of the competition).
At least that’s a fairly minor matter, given that it’s a month until the fixture.
It was hardly minor, though, when the Teachers and the Forces turned up five days ago at Orrell St James expecting different kick-off times, so I understand.
It seems no one from the Rugby Football League was present (why, I have to ask?) to sort out a bit of a wrangle, the match officials and UKAF believing that the game was to start at 7.00pm, while the Teachers expected 8.00pm.