Stephen Halsey retires from Wheelchair Rugby League

Wales Wheelchair international Stephen Halsey has decided to retire from the game to concentrate on his new business.

The 37-year old has had a fantastic run in the sport, winning 16 caps for Wales, scoring 19 tries, kicking 67 goals and one drop-goal, equalling 211 points.

Those statistics currently puts him second in the goal-scoring and third in the points-scoring charts for Wales.

He was part of three Celtic Cup wins with Wales and also made three appearances in the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup in 2022 where Wales reached the semi-finals.

In 2023, in all competitions in Wales and England, he racked up a total of 82 tries and 221 goals (which included four drop goals) equalling 766 points. Two of the tries and 13 of the goals came for Wales, making his the highest international goal scorer in the world that year.

Also, in the last couple of years, he’s been a match official in the WRL Wheelchair Invitational League and has helped to develop young players and match officials in Wales.

He played his final game last Saturday, scoring two tries and kicking 14 goals from as many attempts as his club North Wales Crusaders beat Rochdale Hornets 

Speaking on social media, Halsey said: “So today was my last game in wheelchair rugby league. It’s hard to say that, but as some people know I have gone 100% into setting up the dream of owning my own fish store.

“This sport and most importantly the people in it did so much for me and saved me when life was so hard after my crash, so I will always be thankful for that.

“There have been some amazing highlights for me and being able to represent Wales in the World Cup is definitely up there! Thanks again to all the people who supported me to many people to name but you know who you are.”

Wales Wheelchair head coach Alan Caron said: “It was an honour to play both with him as a player and coach. I was with him at North Wales Crusaders at the beginning of his career and I played alongside him and coached him at international level. I wish him all the best with his future career outside of sport and he’ll always be welcomed back.”