Wheelaroos announce World Cup warm-up matches

The Wheelaroos are set to play World Cup warm-up matches against Wales and Scotland to help prepare for the tournament opener against hosts England at London’s CopperBox Arena.

Like the Kangaroos and Jillaroos, the Wheelaroos have not played since 2019 so coach Brett Clark is keen to ensure the team gets some game time together before the Wheelchair World Cup, which is being played alongside the Men’s and Women’s tournaments for the first time.

Wheelchair Rugby League Australia chairman Martin Meredith said the Wheelaroos would play Wales in Cardiff on October 29 and Scotland at Medway, Kent on October 31 ahead of their World Cup clash with England on November 3.

The Australian team then face Ireland on November 6 and Spain on November 9, with the top two teams in the pool advancing to the semi-finals at the England Institute of Sport in Sheffield on November 13.

The Wheelchair final is at Manchester Central on November 18, with the Men’s and Women’s finals at Old Trafford the following day.

“We have got a pre-World Cup camp so we are getting there about five days before and we thought we would have a couple of warm-up games,” Meredith said.

“Because of COVID, Southern Hemisphere countries have struggled to play international games so we haven’t played for three years. We just need a bit of a tune-up before we go into the World Cup.”

Without any international fixtures, the Wheelaroos squad has been gathering for a series of training camps and the players will come together again on September 2-4 and September 23-25 before travelling to England for the World Cup.

"The team is eagerly awaiting and looking forward to participating in these fixtures in the lead up to the RLWC matches," Clark said.

"They will provide the perfect springboard into the main event, and really give us a chance to put our game plan to the test.”

The Wheelaroos recently announced Brisbane-based financial services company Skyring as their major sponsor for the World Cup and Meredith said other businesses had shown interest in supporting the Australian team.

Meanwhile, defending World Cup champions France - the IRL ranked No.1 Wheelchair nation - will fine-tune their preparations for the tournament with a match against Spain on September 2.

France are looking to bounce back from a 62-48 loss to England in June and preparations are ramping ahead of their opening pool match against Wales in Sheffield on November 4.

Ireland and Wales have also announced a World Cup warm-up match at Halifax on October 8.