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Wales’ wheelchair rugby league side will take on the Army ahead of their tour of the USA.

The game will be played at Cwmbran Stadium, and will kick-off at 1.30pm on Sunday January 14 – with entry free.

While the game won’t be capped or count towards the players’ international appearances total, the full 80-minute match will give Wales coach Alan Caron a chance to use all ten members of his touring squad.

Caron said: “We’re really looking forward to this encounter with the Army and we’re grateful to them for providing us with opposition ahead of our two full internationals against the USA in February.”

Wales will head to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, where they will be taking on the US national side in two full international matches on February 2 and 3.

“When looking round for someone to play, we had thoughts about maybe facing Ireland,” Caron said. “But we didn’t want a match where caps and rankings were on the line.

“Wheelchair rugby league will hopefully be in the next Invictus Games and the Army are trying to push this, a fully inclusive sport into the games, so a match against the Army may also help them with the publicity they need.

“In the last couple of training sessions, I’ve been looking to stretch the players to see them under pressure. This will be a chance to put this into action and will be another big test for them, as we prepare the players for the USA.”

Caron continued: “We’ll train for an hour or so before the match, with the game against the Army being the last time we get together before we go to South Carolina.

“We arrive there late on the Monday, have light training on the Tuesday but we’ll have some full sessions on the Wednesday and Thursday ahead of the two matches, so we’ll be fully prepared for a tough challenge against the USA.”

Caron said it would be “great to see as many people as possible at Cwmbran Stadium… to cheer us on”.

Alex Powell from Penpedairheol, and Ian Golden from Caerphilly, are hoping to travel stateside with Wales, but are in need of sponsorship to do so.

Powell, 29, is a player and has been capped just the once for Wales so far after starting to play wheelchair rugby league for Torfaen Tigers last year.

Ian, 52, is autistic and also has Wales wheelchair rugby to thank for accepting him. After initially getting involved with the side a few years ago, he became the media manager during the World Cup in 2022.

Contact ian.golden@walesrugbyleague.co.uk for more information about sponsorship.