Wigan Warriors stars represent Ireland in wins over Scotland as Wheelchair World Cup preparations begin
There was a plethora of Wigan Warriors representation on show on Saturday as Ireland faced Scotland in a Wheelchair international double-header.
Phil Roberts was on the bench for Ireland Wheelchair A in the first game of the international wheelchair double-header at the Oriam Performance Centre in Edinburgh on Saturday afternoon, helping the Wolfhounds ease past Scotland Wheelchair A 68-8. Roberts, a stalwart of the Wheelchair game for many years, is also the head coach of the Irish Wheelchair sides.
Jack Mangan was the star of the show for Ireland A with six tries, with James McCarthy and Maurice Noonan also bagging braces. Bledi Suxha and Shaun McCullagh both scored tries on their Ireland A debuts.
In the second game of the double-header, Warriors trio Toby Burton-Carter, Mel Griffiths and Oran Spain all featured for Ireland Wheelchair as they took a commanding 58-6 victory over Scotland Wheelchair, as both nations began their preparations for the IRL Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup in 2026.
Burton-Carter crossed for two tries, whilst Griffiths and Spain also got on the scoresheet.
“It was key for the growth of our domestic game that those players had an opportunity to play internationally, and after some initial nerves, it was an accomplished performance,” said Ireland coach Roberts.
“We got off to a scratchy start, but that was in part due to the improvement of the Scotland team. Once we calmed down and cut out some errors, we were able to concentrate on the way we wanted to play and put some nice rugby together.”