Leeds Rhinos Wheelchair Rugby League triumph in LBU debut

The university became a training base for the reigning Super League and Challenge Cup winners in January, as part of a growing partnership between both organisations.

As part of the partnership, the Rhinos will train and play at the university and will receive support from academics and students in the Carnegie School of Sport.

Leeds Rhinos Wheelchair Rugby League Head Coach, and England international, James Simpson said: “It’s kind of a new era for us and we’re extremely grateful to have the support of Leeds Rhinos Foundation and Leeds Beckett University who are now enabling us to train at a world-class facility in their School of Sport with a lot more support taking place behind the scenes.

“I’ve been lucky enough to see the progression of the sport since I began, to a point where last year we were playing in front of packed crowds on BBC and Sky Sports. I’m hoping this is another stepping stone towards growing the game even further and an opportunity for us to have a wider reach and bring more players into the club so that we can be at the forefront of Wheelchair Rugby League and show people how it should be done.”

Wheelchair Rugby League is a fast-growing sport played over 80 minutes and is designed to replicate the running game of rugby league, with various modifications to enable the game to be inclusive for everyone playing.

Hayley Fitzgerald, Professor of Disability Sport within the Carnegie School of Sport said: “The university is committed to supporting inclusive sporting opportunities for our students and the local community. This exciting new partnership with Leeds Rhinos Wheelchair Rugby League team is part of our long term desire to ensure our world class sports facilities are used by a range of sports performers.

“Through this partnership we are looking forward to developing research collaborations and making broader connections with our undergraduate programmes.

“Let’s not forget though, there’s going to be some great games to watch!”

Bob Bowman QPM, Leeds Rhinos Foundation Chief Executive Officer said: “This year is the start of a brand new era for Leeds Rhinos Wheelchair Rugby League and it’s a really exciting time for the team now that they fully embedded into the Leeds Rhinos family under the stewardship of Leeds Rhinos Foundation.

“The new set up at Leeds Beckett is fantastic and they’ve been absolutely brilliant in working with us to make this move happen, which I knew they would be.

“I’m very excited, because it’s not only about supporting what you could call the ‘elite’ athletes in the Rhinos Wheelchair team, but Leeds Beckett are going to assist us in doing more research and development in Disability Sport across the different forms including LDSL and PDRL. So it’s a really nice way to collaborate on creating a fully inclusive offer and establish the starting point of how the University is going to get behind this aspect of the Foundation’s work.”

The Carnegie School of Sport building boasts a wealth of outstanding facilities including dedicated research laboratories, a hypoxic laboratory, a health and wellbeing studio, a covered rooftop 60m sprint track, enhanced strength and conditioning spaces, and changing and recovery facilities.

The facility at Leeds Beckett University’s Headingley Campus is a base for the Carnegie School of Sport’s undergraduate, postgraduate and research programmes and provides a hub for elite athletes who use the university’s sports performance expertise.