Looking ahead to RLWC2021 Scotland Wheelchair have made some changes to their staff team with Mark Roughsedge and Jim Dyson taking over as Head Coaches from Peter Lowis.

Working away behind the scenes is a Scotland Rugby League trademark, as should attempting to become as competitive and successful as possible on the pitch. The new staff appointments to our wheelchair team should give a little insight into our plans to be competitive.

Peter Lowis headed up the coaching team for 4 years having previously spent 2 years as assistant coach. Lowis won’t be leaving the staffing team as he is moving across to become Team Manager and will be leading the off field side of the team in the build up to the next World Cup.

Peter Lowis had this to say:

“I think the time is right and the team are ready to move onto the next phase of their development. This opportunity to appoint two very experienced coaches who are used to winning and demanding that extra 10 percent from their players is  invaluable. It is the right thing to do for the team and the right thing to make Scotland as competitive as possible. It was a tough decision, but the team has to come first and I think it is the right one”

A highlight of Peter’s time as Head Coach was seeing Jay Anderson up on stage  having been nominated for World Player of the Year. Lowis went on to say:

“It was a great privilege to lead the team to the 2017 world cup and I’ve some great memories of France and all the other tournaments. I’ll always be grateful for the opportunity and the support that Scotland Rugby League afforded the team and I. I’d also like to thank everyone at Dundee Dragons for their support over the years with massive thanks to both Kevin Rattray and Dr Elizabeth Ferris”

On appointing Jim Dyson and Mark Roughsedge as Joint Head coaches Ollie Cruickshank (Scotland Rugby League Operations Director) had this to say

“We are delighted to welcome Mark to be a part of the Scotland set-up, Mark has vast experience having successful led England since 2014, it is also great to see Jim step up from Assistant Coach to join Mark in leading the team and we wish them all the best in their preparations for RLWC2021 and I look forward to working with them over the next 18 months.”

Mark had this to say about his appointment:

“I am honoured to be given this role with the National Wheelchair team at what is an exciting time and important time for Rugby League. RLWC2021 will have more eyeballs on our sport than ever before and presents us with a fantastic opportunity to grow the sport in Scotland (and across the UK). Together with a tight knit group of hardworking staff I’m looking forward to creating and environment that will allow the squad to continually improve and perform at their best on the world stage.”

Jim Dyson said:

“It means a lot to be in this role, myself and Mark have been in opposite technical areas for a long time so it will be great working together rather than against each other for a change. Hopefully, we can bring a lot, to help the team going forward. It is a huge honour to be representing Scotland which is a proud nation and has a massive sporting pedigree. Scotland Rugby League is like a family and it’s great to be a member of that family.”