Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints take on the two best teams in Poland
Wheelchair rugby fives goes international and displays how far the discipline has come over a short space of time. The world’s first international wheelchair rugby fives competition gets underway this weekend in Poland, spanning over two days (12 and 13 November 2022). Wheelchair rugby fives is fast, fervent, and formidable.
Great Britain’s current WR5s Premiership champions Northampton Saints and runners-up Leicester Tigers will take on the might of the Polish champions IKS Jeźdźcy Mikołow and runners-up 4K Jokers Bydgoszcz.
Adam Simmons, competition manager for Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby, had this to say about the Polish tournament:
“We are so excited to be entering two WR5s Premiership teams into an international tournament in Poland and this shows us how far wheelchair rugby fives has come from its inception in 2018.”
Leicester Tigers will be aiming for the jugular against their GB arch-rivals the Northampton Saints, as in last season’s Premiership match the teams could only be split through an overtime try scored by talisman Danny Dawoud, who is currently the Swedish national coach. Leicester Tigers will be bringing their current GB Paralympic gold medallist Jamie Stead as player/coach. The addition of Jamie will boost Tigers’ hopes of coming away with their first international wheelchair rugby fives trophy.
The two best teams from Poland will be looking to dominate the travelling Tigers and Saints Teams – whichever team wins the trophy it is sure to be an explosive weekend of wheelchair rugby.
Matches are taking place over Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 November. The competition takes place at the recently opened Arena Gliwice in Gliwice Southern Poland, near Katowice. Arena Gliwice is one of the largest entertainment and sports venues in Poland with a capacity of over 13,000.
“We are proud to be taking part in the very first wheelchair rugby fives international competition and we would like to thank the Polish Wheelchair Rugby Federation for hosting this auspicious occasion.”
Jason Brisbane – GBWR CEO
All the games will be available to watch with English commentary on the Polish Wheelchair Rugby Federation
YouTube channel.
GBWR looks forward to watching the first international wheelchair rugby fives competition unfold and wishes all participants the absolute best of luck.
Find out more about wheelchair rugby fives.
