Positive Start by GB in Europeans

GB  has got off to a positive start in the European Championships by defeating Austria 59-39,  the Czech Republic  64-33  and Germany 44-39. Still to play in their group is Finland at 0900 UK time and Belgium at 1430 UK time both tomorrow. Belgium is also chalking up some strong results so that promises to be an exciting game to watch. It's great to see how the new players are blending in with those who remain from 2012 and in particular Ayaz Bhutta is looking very strong and working well. Early days yet but a nice position to be in at the end of Day 3 for us. On Sunday night I was representing GB at the European Zonal Assembly where there were some interesting presentations particularl...
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Into the Europeans

After a pretty intensive summer of training camps and competition the GB squad head off for Antwerp this weekend to prepare for the European zonal championships starting next week. This is the first of the major competitions for the new look squad and they are in good shape and very excited about playing in a major tournament. They play their first game against Austria at 1130 on Tuesday and we all wish them the very best of luck. I will be going out on Sunday to represent GB at the European Assembly and to meet separately with the IWRF to update them on planning for the proposed Wheelchair Rugby World Cup in 2015. Behind the scenes the work continues to build and strengthen our new performa...
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European Championships Squad Announced

Congratulations to the following players who have been selected to represent Great Britain in the European Championships in Antwerp, Belgium 10th - 18th August 2013   Jonathan Coggan                      0.5 Muhammad Fakrul Islam       0.5 Bulbul Hussain                          1.0 Michael Kerr (Vice Captain)   1.5 Myles Pearson                            1.5 Alan Ash (Captain)                   2.0 Christopher Ryan                      2.0 Gavin Walker                             2.0 Mandip Sehmi                Â...
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Encouraging Start in Denmark for New Squad

There was an encouraging start for the new GB squad and performance team in Denmark at the weekend. We beat Belgium and Japan and narrowly lost to Canada in the group round before losing to eventual tournament winners USA in the crossover. After coming so close to Canada in the group match it was disappointing to be heavily defeated by them 40-55 in the Bronze medal game. But this was the first outing for the new look team and there were some positives, not least in defeating Japan who killed our hopes in the London games and in the opportunity it gave new players to experience what it is like to play the top teams of  USA and Canada. New talent Ayaz Bhuta was recognised for his performance...
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A Great Weekend of Rugby

Pretty much all of you seemed to have been there, but it was a great weekend of rugby at the Dome, Doncaster. With 12 teams taking part in the Nationals and lots of new players there was a real buzz about the place and a sense that we are really starting to see the benefits of the work to get new people into the game. And it wasn't just new players either, we also saw other new faces learning the ropes of  table officiating and Sarah Leighton ran her Classification clinic for a number of physios and others who are interested in becoming classifiers. A big thank you to her as she was pretty much full on for the whole weekend. For Solent Sharks this was their first ever full tournament and it...
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Teams announced for Denmark and Poland Competitions

There is a real sense of the new performance cycle starting with the announcement today of the teams for the Denmark and Poland. Both competitions provide opportunities to trial new players and lines as the Head Coach and the performance staff prepare for the European Championships in August which is the big one for us this year and marks the start of the new competition cycle. Congratulations to Alan Ash who will captain the squad for the current series and whose experience will be invaluable as those new to high level competition settle in. This weekend also sees the National Championships at the Dome in Doncaster – always a good event, the Nationals provide a great opportunity to come ...
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