The inaugural Wheelchair Rugby 5s Summer League drew to a close at the weekend with both Ospreys and Northampton Saints lifting the trophy in their respective divisions, writes Nathaniel Holland.
In the Premiership Ospreys were crowned the first ever Wheelchair Rugby 5s Summer League champions following a narrow 20-19 victory over Leicester Tigers.
The side from South Wales finished third in the Blue Conference leading up to the finals tournament and their day started with defeat to Tigers in the pool stages with Leicester rolling out 19-18 winners. Ospreys bounced back with a big victory over Team Solent Sharks (26-7) to set up a semi-final against Pool 1 leaders Westcountry Hawks.
Hawks started their day off with an impressive 19-18 win over Dorset Destroyers, inflicting Dorset’s first defeat of the season after they had dominated in the league leading up to the finals.
In the battle of the birds it was the Ospreys who soared past the Hawks with a tight 23-22 victory to set up a final against the Tigers who had beaten Dorset Destroyers 18-16.
The final was a tense affair and a great advert for the new version of the game with a mixture of Super Series players and plenty of new faces who, before now, hadn’t had a platform to compete on. Tigers were on top for much of the game, but Ospreys pushed until the end and forced some late turnovers to eventually snatch the victory. Ospreys star Stevie Bolton said; “We got there in the end and it has been a good day. It has been a really good season and it has ended well. Next season we need to keep this up, keep the consistency and hopefully progress to bigger and better things.”
Northampton Saints claimed their first ever title when they lifted the inaugural WR5s Summer League Championship division trophy following an impressive four wins from four at the Stoke Mandeville Stadium.
Having endured a mixed set of results in the Blue Conference over the opening two tournaments of the season, Jamie Higgins’ side were placed in the four-team Championship division for the final tournament.
After recording victories over Woodbridge Warriors (24-11), Brighton Buccaneers (22-15) and Norfolk Knights (26-7) in the round-robin format, they went on to play Brighton in the final- eventually winning the game 29-10.
It was the team’s first season, the club having only established in early 2017 and they showed great comradery and togetherness to get their hands on that elusive first bit of silverware. Coach Higgins said; “I am really proud of the boys. They have been working hard over the last few months and we have been working on tactics and gameplay and we have really gelled as a team.”
Norfolk Knights were able to claim third place in their only win of the day in the final match against Woodbridge Warriors (22-21). Woodbridge only had four players available for the day and Norfolk showed great sportsmanship to reduce their line up to match their opposition. A special mention goes to Woodbridge for completing their fixtures with one less player on court and still enjoying a competitive weekend with a couple of positive results.
The dates for the 2019 WR5s Summer League are now available on the GBWR events calendar.
Full results will be uploaded shortly.
