Wheelchair players selected for England training camp!

17/09/2024

Sheffield Eagles Wheelchair Rugby League team is celebrating further selection for representative honours for several of its players.

Following a recent event in Sheffield to identify youth and female talent in Wheelchair Rugby League, six players from the club have been selected to attend training at an England Futures event to prepare for representative matches later this year.

The women’s squad sees Vicky Brooks, Stacey Roulson, Jenny Pearson and April Brooks selected. Vicky and Stacey are heritage numbers #7 and #10 respectively, who played in the first-ever Eagles Wheelchair side back in 2021, and both played for the original Sheffield Eagles women’s team in their younger days. April and Jenny played their first games in 2022, earning heritage numbers #11 and #18. All four continue to play a leading role in the club, and have become respected players across the Wheelchair Rugby League community.

Selected for the youth squad are Will Brooks and Chris Brown. Will holds the honour of being wheelchair heritage number #1 having played in the very first game, and is fast becoming a talent in the wheelchair game, despite his young age, mixing it with older players across the leagues and not looking out of place at all. Chris Brown is heritage number #12 and knows his way to the try line and has also played in some tough encounters of the Eagles history, including the team’s away Championship match in Dundee in 2022 where he scored the Eagles’ only try.

Head Coach Greg Brown has also been selected as part of the coaching team for the programme, recognising not only his commitment to the Eagles over the past four years, but his own personal commitment to development and improvement and playing an important role in motivating and improving the Eagles team which has gone from being unable to win a game in 2022 to being crowned League Leaders this year.

“I’m so pleased for all of those selected for these representative games” said David Butler, Eagles Foundation Chairperson. “Its testament to their efforts as players and great news for everyone at the club and I know that all the other players will be thrilled to hear of their team mates’ selections, even though some of them may have missed out. All of those selected work extremely hard in training and in their matches and to have the opportunity to be part of the England Futures programme will not only continue to build their confidence but also to give them an opportunity to learn new things and bring it back to the club to help everyone improve.”

“I’m also especially thrilled to see Greg Brown selected as part of the coaching staff” he added. “Greg has been a fantastic Head Coach for the club and he has taken the time to study the game, to listen and learn to other coaches and continually comes up with new things for the team to do and things to try out. He’s not afraid of getting things wrong and is so positive with everyone even in the most trying circumstances. Its as great a reward for him as it is for the players selected and I know he’ll be relishing the opportunity just as much as Vicky, Stacey, April, Jenny, Will and Chris will be!”

The selections come after Stephen Reilly, Will Brooks and Chris Haynes took part in the first England Futures programme earlier in the year, with Haynes going on to join the England Performance Squad.

Congratulations to all of the Wheelchair players who have been selected!