Putting low pointed players in the spotlight
The last day of November saw the start of 3v3 league. Originally piloted in 2022 this is a wheelchair rugby low point competition designed around the principles of the popular 3×3 in basketball and wheelchair basketball.
On Saturday afternoon low point players (those who classify as 0.5, 1.0 or 1.5 in the Paralympic discipline) took to Stoke Mandeville Stadium to show their skills as ball handlers, passers and blockers. New referees also made their debut or gained more experience, and all got used to having only 30 seconds on the shot clock and one try line! Shout out to best official Jo Montgomery who re-programmed the clocks to 30 seconds.
Hawks, Ospreys, Maulers and Shaulers
The intrepid teams to give this a go were Hawks, Ospreys, Maulers and Shaulers a mix of Solent Sharks and Maulers. Other low point players joined the different teams.
As the games developed you could see improvements in tactics and understanding how best to utilise team members’ skills. It was great seeing low pointers as the sole focus. Players were able to show off their skills, often not called on in the Paralympic game.
Ospreys Shone
There was a standout team in Ospreys who were able to call upon GB Talent players Alex Smart and Luke Wilson, ably assisted by Ed Croucher, Sam Loft and Kyran Bishop. Their speed and maneuverability as well as passing skills made light work of scoring tries to put pressure on the other teams.
Sam Dickinson was impressive
Stoke Mandeville Maulers, a team with multiple low pointers they could almost field two teams. The Maulers team was led by Sam Dickinson who was impressive in his punting (alongside Jamie Evans for Shaulers) that opened opportunities to attack. Sam was swift with the ball, scoring the majority of Maulers tries with Jacob Kennedy and Michael Hipwell clearing a route.
Defensive masterpiece
Shaulers and Hawks were in their first match up incredibly close. The game was a defensive masterpiece, with the shot clock buzzer going off frequently as the try line was defended. Shaulers Jamie Evans and Shaun Thorpe combining well with Ben Richardsons throws and Tom Prices picking ability backing them up. For the Hawks they were led by Adam Simmons and had a number of players to use, with Omar Foster helping to rotate the bench. Victoria Smedley got on the scoresheet multiple times in different games. Andrew Calderbank swapped from caressing the ball to table official and back to playing. Curtis Maxwell and Callan Rawnsley got more confident and put in some impressive blocks to stop players. Key to Hawks success though was the return of Harry Langley who was able to break through when needed. The range and different skills allowed Hawks to break free of Shaulers in the final game of the day a rerun of their earlier match.
To leave you with a quote from Alex Smart part of the all-conquering Ospreys
“My first time playing 3v3 and I really enjoyed it. I had a lot of fun playing against other low point players and to give the other players in the team the opportunity to ball carry and take on a different roll-on court. It will be brilliant to see the low point version of the game being played also “
It was a difficult task for the teams to pick best in class as there were many reasons to choose different people. The winners were:
Best in class
0.5 – Harry Lagley – Hawks
1.0 – Alex Smart – Ospreys
1.5 – Ky Bishop – Ospreys
MVP – Sam Dickinson
Best official – Jo Montgomery
Written by Hannah Boyle – GBWR Official
