International Wheelchair Rugby Cup 2023 to be organised by RWC 2023 Organisers

The Organising Committee of the Rugby World Cup (RWC 2023) will organise the International Wheelchair Rugby Cup, after being appointed by World Wheelchair Rugby.

This is the first time the International Wheelchair Rugby Cup will be organised by the RWC organising Committee said the statement on December 3, 2021. It added that the “France 2023 Organising Committee has a strong willingness to make Rugby World Cup France 2023 an event for all those involved in the broader rugby community.”

The International Wheelchair Rugby Cup is due to take place in between the quarter-finals and the semi-finals of Rugby World Cup France 2023. The date period is from 14 October to 21 October, and the venue is still to be confirmed.

Claude Atcher (CEO of France 2023) said: “The France 2023 Organising Committee is proud and eager to organise this unique event: the International Rugby Wheelchair Cup. We want to give to this competition the visibility that it deserves and share the essential values that it carries: diversity, resilience, equality for all.”

Who plays at the International Wheelchair Rugby Cup?

The tournament pulls together the eight best world-ranked nations according to World Wheelchair Rugby, and this will also include the host nation, France.

Japan are the current holders of the International Wheelchair Rugby Cup, defeating the hosts Australia in 2018.

Photo Credit: Kyodo News- Japan won the last International Wheelchair Rugby Cup in 2018

Richard Allcroft (President of World Wheelchair Rugby) added: “I would like to thank France 2023 in developing a partnership that will see the International Wheelchair Rugby Cup feature alongside the Rugby World Cup in France.”

The pool draw for the upcoming Wheelchair Rugby European Championships will also take place during the presentation of France 2023’s SCR strategy in Paris on December 7, 2021.

Global Rugby Events 2022

• The World Games 2022 Wheelchair Rugby.
• World Wheelchair Rugby – World Championship 2022.
• Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021 (played in 2022)
• HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2021 and 2022.