FRANCE TO FACE IRELAND IN WHEELCHAIR INTERNATIONALS

France will take on Ireland in two wheelchair internationals next month, as the nations prepare for the IRL Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup 2026 which starts in October and takes place in Wollongong, Australia.

The world ranking matches will be played over the weekend of Saturday 11 July (kick off 4.30pm, local time) and Sunday 12 July (kick off 6pm), both at the Halle Marcel Cerdan in Perpignan, with entry free for spectators.

“We are very pleased to be playing Ireland as part of our World Cup preparations,” said France Wheelchair RL head coach, Cyril Torres. “They have been improving significantly since we last played them a couple of years ago, and I am sure they will provide us with strong opposition for these games. That is largely down to their head coach and my great friend Phil Roberts, and I am very pleased that we have been able to arrange these matches together.”

The last meeting, in November 2024 in Nantes, saw France victorious 62-20 with their only other previous encounter being a 100-8 victory for France in 2015’s European Championship, held at Medway Park in England.

Ireland’s form has been on the rise in recently, having taken three straight Celtic Cup titles in 2024-26 and moving to third in the IRL World Rankings, just behind their opponents.

“With the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup just over four months away, we were keen to provide our players with the strongest possible test,” noted Roberts. “Travelling to Perpignan to play France will be a great benchmark of our preparations and a fantastic experience for the squad.

“We’re very grateful to FFRXIII for accommodating us. In our journey since the last World Cup, the best thing that has happened to our squad was playing France in Nantes. We lost the game but took a lot away tactically and technically and which has been of huge benefit to our development since then.”