Day two of the tournament and I am already bleary eyed! I got myself out of bed to watch the the 3:30 am game between the USA v Canada followed by Japan v Denmark at 6:00 am. USA v Canada games are always a little special, they were the first international wheelchair rugby nations and are synonymous with the iconic Academy Award nominated film documentary ‘Murderball’, which centred on the rivalry between the Canadian and USA teams and did much to bring wheelchair rugby to a wider audience. In this morning’s game there was little to choose between the teams in the first half with the lead going back and forth and Canada in front 28-27 at half time. But the third quarter started badly for Canada with a number of unforced errors and the USA quickly capitalised to reverse the lead and were two tries ahead within the first two minutes of the quarter. With more pressure being exerted the USA began to open up a gap and by the start of the final quarter were three tries ahead and looking very much the stronger team. The pairing of Wheeler and Akoi continually stretched Canada who seemed a bit of a one-man team in Madell, who did his best to continually create opportunities and keep Canada in the game. It was not to be and the USA emerged as winners 58-54.
Yesterday’s Japan v France game came down to the closing minutes with Japan winning by one try. I think we were all a little surprised at how close the game was and had expected Japan to be more dominant. Today it seemed as if a different Japan had taken the court and despite the valiant efforts of Denmark, particularly Peters and Frederickson who never gave up, Japan cruised to an easy victory. It was a very impressive performance with Ikezaki and Ike combining well to create opportunities. Together their speed, ball handling and height created real problems for Denmark. By the end of the third quarter Japan were ten tries ahead and coach Kevin Orr introduced two new young players to the court to give them their first Paralympic experience. Both look very bright prospects and I can’t help but think Japan is going to be a force to reckon with for some years. With the final score at 60-51 to Japan the hosts confirmed their status as one of the favourites for the gold medal, but Kevin Orr their experienced coach will not be thinking that far ahead.
In the third game of the day France played the current Paralympic gold medallists Australia. It was a great spectacle with tries being traded one for one all the way into the forth quarter where both teams had scored thirty-six each. It seemed that the teams were equally matched with France’s Cedric joined by various teammates at different times to tie Ryley Batt down – never easy but he did a pretty good job. Towards the latter part of the final quarter France got caught with too many players in the key giving away a penalty quickly followed by a second and suddenly the game changed and France were forced to chase. Four minutes from time and Australia were three tries up and although France did everything they could they only managed to pull one try back. In the end Australia’s experience came through and they won the match 50-48. My friend, the French coach Olivier Cusin, will be disappointed to have come so close but he and his team can be hugely proud of that performance and but for a couple of errors at a key time it could have been different.
The traditional Maori challenge of the Haka signalled the start of the GB v New Zealand game. It is always a powerful statement of intent but GB were more than ready for the challenge and put the Kiwis under pressure from the very start. Within the first minute the Kiwis had used two of their four time-outs and were suddenly 12-4 down. By the end of the first quarter GB were leading 17-5 which allowed Head Coach Paul Shaw to give all his players a roll out including giving a first Paralympic Games experience to Jack Smith – big congratulations to him. Jack has worked hard at the game which he took up not long after a spinal injury incurred played rugby union. Since then he has been supported by the RFU Injured Players Foundation so I am sure they were pleased to see him take to the court today. GB took their foot off the gas in Q3 which slowed their scoring down and allowed New Zealand to come back a little – not something the coach will want to see as we move towards the bigger games. But we can be pleased with a comfortable winning score of 60-37 knowing that it will be a very different challenge tomorrow when we meet the highly experienced USA. At the end of the game I got many texts and calls saying ‘well done, you are into the semi-finals whatever happens now’. It’s great to have everyone supporting us in this way but for us it is very much one game at a time. The next focus for us is the USA. It is a game we want to win and we will think about what follows afterwards when that is over. Watch us tomorrow on More4 at 9:30 am.
David Pond
