Ireland out to retain Wheelchair Celtic Cup

Ireland travel to Cardiff Metropolitan University’s Cyncoed Campus on Saturday attempting to retain the Wheelchair Celtic Cup they won on home soil last season. This will be the tenth staging of the competition, with Ireland winning the first and most recent tournaments, and Wales taking the seven in between.

Ireland head coach, Phil Roberts, commented: “Our inaugural domestic competition, launched this year, has produced increased player numbers and regular participation opportunities that were not previously available.

“This gives us improved tactical and technical knowledge and provides healthy competition for places. The Celtic Cup gets bigger and better every year and with some experienced players returning for Wales and the emergence of Edinburgh Giants. I expect this to be the toughest competition yet.”

Halifax and Connacht’s Joseph Calcott leads the nation for the first time in a squad that includes players from four Irish provinces.

Brogan Evans, one of three potential debutants for Wales along with Jonathan Gill, Jakub Wasieczko, could become be the first ever player to represent their country in both the running and wheelchair versions of the sport.

A former Wales women’s international, she suffered an injury which has put her out of the running game and started playing the wheelchair version with North Wales Crusaders in the Welsh league and Salford Red Devils in the English league.

“Brogan’s work-rate in the build-up to this tournament has been second to none,” said Wales head coach Alan Caron. “She’s been putting in extra sessions to improve her chair skills and she scored a well-worked try for Salford last weekend. I know she’ll grip this opportunity with both hands.

“Jonathan and Jakub have been on our radar for some time. It’s the first year we can field Jakub due to his age and Jonathan was unavailable last year. Crusaders’ development system is impressive, from schools’ work to club to international.

“Having Stuart (Williams) and captain Jodie (Boyd-Ward) back is very exciting, they’re both very experienced players. We’re delighted to be hosting the Celtic Cup in the Welsh capital for the first time and I’m sure the Welsh public will come out to cheer us on.”

Scotland’s progress is being helped by Edinburgh Giants’ acceptance into the Betfred Wheelchair Super League for 2025, BBC Newsround presenter Martin Dougan among their selections. New caps are set to be given to Sarah Devlin, Hamish Douglas, Mark Robertson.

Head coach, Martyn Gill, noted: “This is a transitional chapter for us in shaping how we want Scotland Wheelchair Rugby League to look over the next few years. It's exciting, but equally change isn't easy and can take time.

“The squad has a blend of experience, with some regular faces from previous tournaments. The goal is to be competitive, coming up against two great sides we hope we can do ourselves and the nation proud.”

Matches will be streamed on the Wales RL YouTube channel, with tickets available at: https://ticketpass.org/event/ECZYWW/celtic-cup-2025 and on the day with electronic payments only being accepted.

CELTIC CUP FIXTURES

11am – Wales v Scotland
1pm – Scotland v Ireland
3pm – Wales v Ireland

Wales: Lee Sargent (Cardiff Blue Dragons), Alex Powell (Hereford Harriers), Jodie Boyd-Ward (Leeds Rhinos), Jessica Booth, Jonathan Gill*, Jakub Wasieczko*, Stuart Williams (North Wales Crusaders), Brogan Evans* (Salford Red Devils), Scott Trigg-Turner, Mark Williams (Wigan Warriors)

Scotland: Connor Blackmore, Calum Davidson, Sarah Devlin, Hamish Douglas, Olivia Fulton, David Hill, Mark Robertson, John Willans (Edinburgh Giants), Martin Dougan (Rochdale Hornets), Calum Japes (Castleford Tigers)

Ireland: Toby Burton Carter, Mel Griffith (Leinster WRL, Wigan Warriors WRL), Joseph Calcott (Connacht WRL, Halifax Panthers WRL), Cian Horgan, James McCarthy (Munster WRL), Peter Johnston (Argonauts WRL), Tom Martin (Ulster WRL, Halifax Panthers WRL), Phil Roberts (Connacht WRL, Wigan Warriors WRL), Jack Shannon Cole, Oran Spain (Leinster WRL)