Hull FC’s Wheelchair side are delighted to announce the signing of former England international and World Cup winning captain Martin Norris!
The 36-year old joins the club from Wigan Warriors, and becomes the side’s highest profile signing to date since joining the Betfred Wheelchair Super League.
Norris’ Wheelchair Rugby League career began in 2004 having been selected for the England team’s tour of France after being scouted and a series of trials.
Following the tour, Norris signed for Wigan, one of the first two competitive teams in the country, and was called up to the Great Britain side shortly after, becoming captain in 2008.
Norris led the side to World Cup glory in 2008, beating Australia 44-12 in Sydney and being named Man of the Match in the contest.
He also featured in the 2013 edition of the competition on home turf and having featured in the mid-season international against France last June, was unfortunate not to be selected for the most recent edition of the tournament in 2022, where England were once again crowned World Champions – supporters may also recognise Norris from his punditry work with the BBC during the tournament!
Norris made his debut for the Black & Whites last month in their impressive 36-26 victory over London Roosters, scoring a hat-trick at the University of Hull.
After back-to-back wins over Warrington and the Roosters, Hull currently sit third in the Betfred Wheelchair Super League table and will be looking to build on their strong opening to the 2023 season.
Norris’ signing is just the latest piece of positive news for the club’s wheelchair side, with Tristan Norfolk recently called up to the England Performance Squad, and Steve Sampher named in Team UK for the Invictus Games later this year!
Speaking to hullfc.com, Norris said: “I’ve been involved in the game since the very start – I’ve been involved at Wigan for a while but living locally just over the Humber Bridge near Grimsby, the opportunity to join the club was one I couldn’t turn down
“I’ve known Mike Swainger (head coach and captain) a while, and was actually involved in the launch of the team about a decade ago, so I already knew it was a good group of people at Hull
“I’m getting a bit older now so it’s great to be at a team where I can have some regular training, but also after the World Cup, there’s been a huge increase in the interest in the sport, so to join a team who are really on the up with over thirty players across the first-team and development squad is a really exciting opportunity.
“Over the next few years, I’ll be looking to progress into coaching too, so this felt like a really great chance to pass on some of my knowledge and experiences of the last twenty years in the sport onto the next generation of players coming through at Hull.
“I’ve been around the side for a few weeks now having made my debut against London; there’s definitely areas we can improve, but we’re in a really good spot to build on our ambition to break into that top four of Leeds, Halifax, Wigan and London. Some of that hard work is being shown now with the likes of Tristan Norfolk being selected in the England squad.
“The opportunity to develop and progress over the next few years is definitely there and something I’m looking forward to being involved in.”
Hull FC’s Wheelchair side return to action on Sunday 21st May (4.30pm), taking on table toppers Leeds Rhinos at the Allam Sports Centre, with free entry for all supporters.
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