Three clashes between Torfaen Tigers and North Wales Crusaders in as many weeks will complete the WRL Wheelchair season.
This begins this Sunday at Cwmbran Stadium when the two sides meet in their final game of the regular wheelchair season (kick-off 12.15pm), with Cardiff Blue Dragons v Swindon St George immediately following.
Torfaen Tigers and North Wales Crusaders have also qualified for both the WRL Wheelchair DevelopeGrand Final and Cwpan Sialans Cadair Olwyn, which will be played over the next two weekends, the first in Wrexham on Saturday 25th October, and the second in Caerphilly on the Saturday after.
Torfaen already have one honour to their name this season, after finishing top of the league, and as trebles are in fashion this season, they will look to complete the set and emulate Halifax Panthers wheelchair, Hull Kingston Rovers men and Wigan Warriors women who won the treble in their respective Super Leagues over the border.
With just ten registered players this season, only nine of whom have turned out, the Tigers have the smallest squad in the league, which makes their 100 percent record even more remarkable. But, as captain Jason Reynolds said, this has made them stronger.
“At the start of the season, we were thinking we might be wrapping up and calling it a day because we just didn’t have the players,” he admits. “But we’ve rallied around and we’ve a hardcore of seven or eight, which is very little compared to the others in the league.
“But I think this is working better because everybody’s playing regularly and are all outstanding in every game. We’re playing with smiles on our faces.”
To complete a historic treble, they must beat a determined Crusaders side who will be determined to win a double, especially as they are holders of Cwpan Sialans Cadair Olwyn, and narrowly lost the Grand Final in 2024.
In contrast to Torfaen, the Crusaders have the largest squad in the league, using 16 players this season. This in addition to those they’ve used in the English leagues, so they’re taking a different approach to the next three weeks.
Their captain Jess Booth said: “We’re doing a lot of work with our junior development players to make sure they’re confident going into this.
“The Tigers are definitely a team that, for some of our less experienced players, may seem like quite a big hurdle, so we’re looking at how Tigers play, and coming up with ways that everyone feels confident and ready going into playing them.
“We want to ensure that all our development players are getting time on that pitch, but also time at a pace that they can manage. At the heart of it for us, the focus is ensuring that those players who have been training all season, turning up and putting their all in, win or lose in these last few games, they feel like they’re getting something out of it at the end of the season.”
Remaining fixtures…
Sunday 19th October – 12:15pm – Torfaen Tigers v North Wales Crusaders – Cwmbran Stadium
Sunday 19th October – 1:35pm – Cardiff Blue Dragons v Swindon St George – Cwmbran Stadium
Saturday 25th October – 12:45pm – WRL Wheelchair Invitational League Grand Final – Torfaen Tigers v North Wales Crusaders – Wrexham University Sports Hall
Saturday 1st November – 11:30am – Cwpan Sialens Cadair Olwyn – Torfaen Tigers v North Wales Crusaders – Caerphilly Leisure Centre
