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Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wheelchair warrior Evans finds new place in rugby
Wales rugby league international Brogan Evans thought her dreams had come true when she signed for Women's Super League side Wigan Warriors 18 months ago. But sport, as it often does, struck the cruellest of blows when the forward suffered a career-threatening injury just a few games into the season. After coming through surgery to reconstruct her knee, further complications emerged in her spine and Evans admits it is "highly unlikely" she will ever return to the running game. "I was crushed, I can't express what a massive part of my life rugby was," the 29-year-old said. "I was in hospital all over the new year [2025] and I can't express how lost I felt, then I saw a poster to give wheelchair rugby a go." After just a couple of training sessions, Evans was invited into the Wales camp and is now set to make her international rugby league wheelchair debut in Saturday's Celtic Cup. The annual competition sees Wales take on reigning champions Ireland and Scotland at Cardiff Metropolitan University (11:00 BST). Evans will actually make a bit of history as she will become the first player to win a senior international cap in more than one major rugby league discipline. "It's all happened so fast, it's been a bit of a whirlwind," she said. "I know rugby, the game in essence is the same, what I lack is chair control. I have been training so hard ahead of Celtic, hiring sports halls two or three times a week in prep. I don't want to make a fool of myself or let my team-mates down." But Wales head coach Alan Caron has no qualms in including Evans in his squad. "Brogan's work-rate in the build-up to this tournament has been second to none. She's been putting in extra sessions to improve her chair skills and she scored a well-worked try for Salford last weekend," Caron said. "Her ball skills are already there of course, and the fact she won multiple awards in the women's game a couple of years ago just proves what she can accomplish. I know she'll grip this opportunity with both hands." Evans said it was an emotional transition from running to wheelchair rugby and admits to shedding a few tears in her first session with Wales. "As fun as it was, there is a real possibility that one day I won't be able to just stand up from the wheelchair after a game, and that was daunting and terrifying," she said. "I was convinced my life would be over but, through this, I have met the most incredible people. "One of my favourite Welsh team-mates is paralysed and his life is incredible. He is the most abled and least disabled person I have ever met. His life gives me hope about my future. "I'm actually okay about the whole thing now, whether I end up in a chair permanently or whether I don't, there is a place for me. A new rugby family." While Evans' initial dream of competing at the 2026 Rugby League World Cup may be over, she still hopes to play at a major tournament, and even one day compete at the Paralympics Games "in one sport or another". Evans is part of Wales' 10-player mixed squad and she will not be the only one to break records on Saturday. Jodie Boyd-Ward will become the sport's most capped player when she leads Wales out at Archers Arena. The 32-year-old is currently on 44 international appearances, level with Welshman Harry Jones. "It truly is an honour to be asked to captain Wales for the Celtic Cup, especially as it's an opportunity to lead the squad out and look to reclaim the trophy," Boyd-Ward said. "Last year, I knew after an amazing tour to the US, that I needed to take some time out after not taking a break for the whole of my wheelchair rugby league career. "Now I'm back and feeling better than ever, I'm looking forward to getting stuck in with the team and also seeing how both Scotland and Ireland have continued their development, as I know we have at Wales." Wales' World Cup captain from 2022, Stuart Williams, is named as vice-captain. The 40-year-old, who is Wales' record international try scorer with 66, returns to the side after missing last year's Wales matches. Wales Celtic Cup squad: Lee Sargent (Cardiff Blue Dragons/Hereford Harriers), Jodie Boyd-Ward (Leeds Rhinos), Jess Booth, Jonathan Gill, Jakub Wasieczko, Stuart Williams (all North Wales Crusaders), Brogan Evans (North Wales Crusaders/Salford Red Devils), Alex Powell (Torfaen Tigers/Hereford Harriers), Scott Trigg-Turner, Mark Williams (both Torfaen Tigers/Wigan Warriors).
BBC News
23-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Wheelchair warrior Evans finds new place in rugby
Wales rugby league international Brogan Evans thought her dreams had come true when she signed for Women's Super League side Wigan Warriors 18 months sport, as it often does, struck the cruellest of blows when the forward suffered a career-threatening injury just a few games into the coming through surgery to reconstruct her knee, further complications emerged in her spine and Evans admits it is "highly unlikely" she will ever return to the running game."I was crushed, I can't express what a massive part of my life rugby was," the 29-year-old said."I was in hospital all over the new year [2025] and I can't express how lost I felt, then I saw a poster to give wheelchair rugby a go." A whirlwind transition After just a couple of training sessions, Evans was invited into the Wales camp and is now set to make her international rugby league wheelchair debut in Saturday's Celtic annual competition sees Wales take on reigning champions Ireland and Scotland at Cardiff Metropolitan University (11:00 BST).Evans will actually make a bit of history as she will become the first player to win a senior international cap in more than one major rugby league discipline."It's all happened so fast, it's been a bit of a whirlwind," she said."I know rugby, the game in essence is the same, what I lack is chair control. I have been training so hard ahead of Celtic, hiring sports halls two or three times a week in prep. I don't want to make a fool of myself or let my team-mates down."But Wales head coach Alan Caron has no qualms in including Evans in his squad."Brogan's work-rate in the build-up to this tournament has been second to none. She's been putting in extra sessions to improve her chair skills and she scored a well-worked try for Salford last weekend," Caron said. "Her ball skills are already there of course, and the fact she won multiple awards in the women's game a couple of years ago just proves what she can accomplish. I know she'll grip this opportunity with both hands." 'Convinced my life was over' Evans said it was an emotional transition from running to wheelchair rugby and admits to shedding a few tears in her first session with Wales. "As fun as it was, there is a real possibility that one day I won't be able to just stand up from the wheelchair after a game, and that was daunting and terrifying," she said."I was convinced my life would be over but, through this, I have met the most incredible people."One of my favourite Welsh team-mates is paralysed and his life is incredible. He is the most abled and least disabled person I have ever met. His life gives me hope about my future."I'm actually okay about the whole thing now, whether I end up in a chair permanently or whether I don't, there is a place for me. A new rugby family."While Evans' initial dream of competing at the 2026 Rugby League World Cup may be over, she still hopes to play at a major tournament, and even one day compete at the Paralympics Games "in one sport or another". Evans is part of Wales' 10-player mixed squad and she will not be the only one to break records on Saturday. Jodie Boyd-Ward will become the sport's most capped player when she leads Wales out at Archers Arena. The 32-year-old is currently on 44 international appearances, level with Welshman Harry Jones. "It truly is an honour to be asked to captain Wales for the Celtic Cup, especially as it's an opportunity to lead the squad out and look to reclaim the trophy," Boyd-Ward said. "Last year, I knew after an amazing tour to the US, that I needed to take some time out after not taking a break for the whole of my wheelchair rugby league career."Now I'm back and feeling better than ever, I'm looking forward to getting stuck in with the team and also seeing how both Scotland and Ireland have continued their development, as I know we have at Wales."Wales' World Cup captain from 2022, Stuart Williams, is named as 40-year-old, who is Wales' record international try scorer with 66, returns to the side after missing last year's Wales matches. Wales Celtic Cup squad: Lee Sargent (Cardiff Blue Dragons/Hereford Harriers), Jodie Boyd-Ward (Leeds Rhinos), Jess Booth, Jonathan Gill, Jakub Wasieczko, Stuart Williams (all North Wales Crusaders), Brogan Evans (North Wales Crusaders/Salford Red Devils), Alex Powell (Torfaen Tigers/Hereford Harriers), Scott Trigg-Turner, Mark Williams (both Torfaen Tigers/Wigan Warriors).
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
'Think you can do better?' The player who turned referee
Wheelchair rugby league player Adam Rigby has got used to being a trailblazer since taking up the sport as a teenager. And the two-time World Cup winner will create more history on Saturday when he becomes the first person to referee a senior international from a wheelchair. He will achieve that honour when he takes charge of the match between Scotland and Wales at the three-team Celtic Cup tournament in Cardiff, which also features Ireland. However, the 32-year-old told BBC Sport that his route into refereeing opened up by accident. "I was at a competition over in Hull and was challenging a decision that had been made in a game I was watching," he said. "One of the lead referees overheard me and said: 'If you think you can do any better, why don't you give it a go?' "It stuck with me and the following day I signed up to do the wheelchair officiating course. "I had already refereed some friendly games at my club Wigan Warriors, so the interest was there. This was just the push I needed and it came at the right time for me." Rigby has been a pioneer of the wheelchair game, taking up the sport in 2006 and helping England win the inaugural 2008 World Cup in Australia and again on home territory in 2022. He also won the 2023 Grand Final with Wigan. He retired from England duty earlier this month but will still play in the Wheelchair Super League when the new season starts in June. He says his playing experience has helped him as a referee. "It has given me the insight into the game that not everyone has," he said. "I understand the rhythm of the game, the way the momentum can flip, the tactics and probably the little 'dark arts' that players used to try and gain an advantage. "That experience helps massively, especially when making decisions under pressure. "Refereeing has taught me to be a better communicator, how to manage situations and personalities out on court, and how to keep control and calm but deliver your message in a firm way. "It has also made me reflect more on how I play the game - and might have calmed me down a bit. I'm sure some referees will hear that and say: 'It's about time!'" England wheelchair RL's Ashes tour set for autumn Dragons removed from Wheelchair Challenge Cup by RFL Rigby, who was born with the hereditary condition familial spastic diplegia and has been a wheelchair user since his teens, has also had to learn about on-court positioning and how it differs for officials in a chair compared to those standing. As well as refereeing Saturday's opening match, he will be part of the in-goal team for the other two games on the day, in which Ireland take on first Scotland and then Wales. He is keen to send out a message that there is a place for wheelchair users in every aspect of the sport. "I'm excited to give back to the game in a whole new way and hopefully I'm going to inspire some others to take up the whistle as well," he admitted. "It's about showing there are opportunities on and off the court and finding the right one for you. "Over the two decades I've been involved, rugby league has given me so much - structure, friendships, pride in pulling the shirts on and some of the best memories that you can really ask for. "To me, it is more than just a sport and it means the world to me."
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Think you can do better?' The player who turned referee
Wheelchair rugby league player Adam Rigby has got used to being a trailblazer since taking up the sport as a the two-time World Cup winner will create more history on Saturday when he becomes the first person to referee a senior international from a will achieve that honour when he takes charge of the match between Scotland and Wales at the three-team Celtic Cup tournament in Cardiff, which also features the 32-year-old told BBC Sport that his route into refereeing opened up by accident."I was at a competition over in Hull and was challenging a decision that had been made in a game I was watching," he said."One of the lead referees overheard me and said: 'If you think you can do any better, why don't you give it a go?'"It stuck with me and the following day I signed up to do the wheelchair officiating course."I had already refereed some friendly games at my club Wigan Warriors, so the interest was there. This was just the push I needed and it came at the right time for me."Rigby has been a pioneer of the wheelchair game, taking up the sport in 2006 and helping England win the inaugural 2008 World Cup in Australia and again on home territory in 2022. He also won the 2023 Grand Final with retired from England duty earlier this month but will still play in the Wheelchair Super League when the new season starts in says his playing experience has helped him as a referee."It has given me the insight into the game that not everyone has," he said."I understand the rhythm of the game, the way the momentum can flip, the tactics and probably the little 'dark arts' that players used to try and gain an advantage."That experience helps massively, especially when making decisions under pressure."Refereeing has taught me to be a better communicator, how to manage situations and personalities out on court, and how to keep control and calm but deliver your message in a firm way."It has also made me reflect more on how I play the game - and might have calmed me down a bit. I'm sure some referees will hear that and say: 'It's about time!'" Rigby, who was born with the hereditary condition familial spastic diplegia and has been a wheelchair user since his teens, has also had to learn about on-court positioning and how it differs for officials in a chair compared to those well as refereeing Saturday's opening match, he will be part of the in-goal team for the other two games on the day, in which Ireland take on first Scotland and then is keen to send out a message that there is a place for wheelchair users in every aspect of the sport."I'm excited to give back to the game in a whole new way and hopefully I'm going to inspire some others to take up the whistle as well," he admitted."It's about showing there are opportunities on and off the court and finding the right one for you."Over the two decades I've been involved, rugby league has given me so much - structure, friendships, pride in pulling the shirts on and some of the best memories that you can really ask for. "To me, it is more than just a sport and it means the world to me."
South Wales Argus
22-04-2025
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
Dragons given boost as Jared Rosser signs new deal
The 27-year-old wing, who can also play at centre, provided the highlights for the Men of Gwent with two tries in the Judgement Day defeat to the Scarlets at the Principality Stadium. That took him to 32 scores for the club, putting him fourth on Dragons' all-time top try-scorers list. Rosser made his first appearance for Dragons' senior side in the 2017-2018 season and celebrated his 100th match for his home club this season. The Pontypool United product famously scored five tries against Connacht Eagles in the Celtic Cup in 2018-2019 before impressing for Wales Under-20s while he also represented Wales Sevens at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2018. The former Abersychan School and Newport High School student also represented Ebbw Vale and Bedwas during his senior career. 'I'm really pleased that Jared has signed a new contract, he's a key member of the squad and his try-scoring record for us has been good over the years,' said backs coach Matt O'Brien. 'He's got some good attributes. He's a big physical guy and an imposing player who's a real hard-worker and a real asset for us. 'The challenge for us is to get the ball in his hands more and I'm looking forward to working with him over the next couple of years.' Rosser, whose younger brother Ewan also plays for the club, said: 'I'm really happy to have signed again with Dragons. 'It's a place that I love turning up to every day. 'Being here for so long already, it's a place I've made some of my closest friends and working with my brother is a privilege. 'I'm excited to finish the season strong and take some momentum into a big season next year.' Head coach Filo Tiatia was pleased to see Rosser score his first tries since April 2024 at the weekend. "It's always great to see backs scoring tries and it was good to see some of the players unleash themselves [against the Scarlets]," said Tiatia. "Jared had some really good moments, and some moments that he has to keep improving on as well." The Dragons conclude their United Rugby Championship campaign with a trip to the Ospreys this Saturday, before two games in South Africa against the Stormers and the Bulls.
