BT Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby are the new European Champions defeating Sweden in a truly nail-biting final by just one point! Our young and determined team held their nerve throughout to win a very tight game in which the teams matched each other point for point, right up until the final second. In winning the tournament, GB also qualified for the Paralympic Games in Rio next year and so have again met all of their performance targets this year. At the after match dinner Johnny Coggan was crowned the best 0.5 of the tournament and Jim Roberts the best 3.0. So ended a very successful tournament for GB who put in some strong performances, looked supremely fit, and demonstrated a composure and maturity under pressure which will stand them in very good stead for the big games to come. Congratulations to the team and to the performance staff who can all share the joy of this win knowing they played their part. Particular congratulations to the coaches who can take pride in what they have achieved so far with the team.
Thank you to our friends in Finland for organizing an excellent tournament in Pajulahit and for their warm and generous hospitality, and also to the IWRF and all the officials and volunteers whose hard work made the event run smoothly. For anyone who missed a particular match they would like to see, you can access all 20 matches of the tournament at www.wrec2015.fi. The final results are:
Gold Great Britain
Silver Sweden
Bronze Denmark
4th Germany
5th France
6th Ireland
7th Finland
8th Belgium
With just 3 weeks before the start of BT WWRC15, the squad have little time to rest and are eager now to pit themselves against the world’s top teams. You should now start to see a lot more about BT WWRC15 as our marketing campaign takes off. If you are around Holborn and Covent Garden you will see the tournament brand on flagpoles, we were in Rugby World Cup programmes this weekend and the promotional film will start to be shown on ITV at the end of the week. The tournament promises to showcase the sport in a way never seen before so make sure you have got your tickets and that you tell everyone to make their way to the Copper Box Arena to see the new European Champions take on the best in the world! www.wwrc15.com
David Pond
