England Wheelchair Rugby League’s National Performance Squad (NPS) held its second training session of the season at York Sport last weekend, with a number of fresh faces linking up with some of the more familiar names in the game.
London Roosters’ Jason Owen is one of head coach Tom Coyd’s new selections in 2024, having been called up on the back of an outstanding performance on the Future of England event at the same venue.
“I love this place!” exclaimed Jason. “England Futures brought so many players, like me, together from so many clubs, and gave us an opportunity to connect with each other, to shine and to just enjoy the day.
“We spent a couple of days training and developing, then on the final day we came together for the trial. It was healthy competition, because obviously people wanted to try and get into the national performance squad, but there was a real camaraderie between people and everyone was pushing each other.
“I came along hopeful of making the squad. I knew my potential. But there were some fantastic players there, so I knew that I'd have to give it everything I had. Now I’m here! I love the atmosphere and the team ethic. There’s a real connection.
“Another thing I've always noticed in the NPS is that it's not just about the players. What's really impressive is the wraparound care and professional attitude from all the backroom staff. It really drives this team forward."
Owen began playing Wheelchair Rugby League in 2013, after seeing England take on France in that year’s World Cup Final at Medway Park in Gillingham, Kent.
“I’d seen Wheelchair Rugby League online," Jason explained. “And I said to my family ‘let's go along and watch'. I’d never read anything about it before, I just saw rugby posts and knew it was for me. It was a unique sport. A fantastic sport. People with physical disabilities, people without. Men, women, children, adults, older people, younger people, all coming together to play a really competitive sport. It's everything that Rugby League is.
“But my wheelchair skills were non-existent. And I realised then the skills I would need to be able to play. I knew how to catch. I could get around in my chair. But what about when you have to use your hands to catch and to move at the same time? It took a while!
“Having run taster sessions for schools and newcomers through Gravesend Dynamite, I can see that the potential for this sport to really make a difference with people in the community is huge. The first couple of minutes they're playing, they're going at one mile an hour; then within 10 or 15 minutes, they're making rapid development. And of course, it's so inclusive. Wheelchair Rugby League just allows people to come together.”
England Wheelchair Rugby League National Performance Squad:
Seb Bechara MBE (Catalans Dragons), Mason Billington (London Roosters), Wayne Boardman (Halifax Panthers), Jack Brown (North Queensland Cowboys), Josh Butler, Nathan Collins (both Leeds Rhinos), Joe Coyd (London Roosters), Tom Halliwell OBE (Leeds Rhinos), Rob Hawkins (Halifax Panthers), Chris Haynes (Sheffield Eagles), Jack Heggie (Wigan Warriors), Nathan Holmes (Halifax Panthers), Lewis King (London Roosters), Tristan Norfolk (Hull FC), Jason Owen (London Roosters), Adam Rigby (Wigan Warriors).
