12 of the best teams in Great Britain go to battle in Buckinghamshire.
RGC and Tigers are Victorious
Stoke Mandeville Stadium saw the inaugural WR5s National competition where a staggering 12 teams battled it out in two divisions over a full weekend!
First Nationals
During the competition six teams vied for the National Cup and a further six battled it out for the Shield. In a shock to the system, games consisted of the full four periods of eight minutes with a stopping clock. The longer version allowed for games to ebb and flow with the chance for teams to recover from poor starts. It was great to see the mix of Paralympic discipline type plays such as truck trailers, picking back and posting along with the hard hits, and multiple passes and dummies that have become a feature of the wheelchair rugby fives game.
Camaraderie
It was amazing to see the support for the teams, with supporters getting involved with banners, cheering and clapping. The teams also seemed to engage with each other with longer breaks between games allowing a relaxed atmosphere where players could chat.
Thank You to Our Volunteers and Officials
The competition as always could not have run without the support of volunteers and officials and continued thanks must be given to them for giving up their time. It was great to see newer referees Ian Lloyd and Helen Thompson and returning table officials Julie Craig and Sandra Jones. GBWR were also pleased to invite Diogo a referee from Portugal. When he was confronted with the chance of three-man refereeing, he mentioned it would not be currently possible in Portugal as they only have two referee’s! The three-man referee system took time for players and refs to get used to. Especially as the extra eyes meant more fouls could be spotted. A mammoth 14 penalty bin visits occurring in one game although that might have been due to the teams involved (Saints and Pumas looking at you here).
Due to the sheer number of teams and players taking part I have split the rest of the report into one looking at the teams involved in the cup and one looking at the shield.
WR5s National Cup
The Cup competition consisted of Premiership champions Leicester Tigers alongside Premiership rivals Help for Heroes, North East Barbarians, Northampton Saints and joining them are newly promoted Championship winners Team Solent Sharks and finally Penrith Pumas. As always, the competition was fierce with teams enjoying the challenge of the longer game times.
Team Solent Sharks
Team Solent Sharks’ welcome to the Premierships sides was a bruising encounter but they battled hard. The Sharks were without their usual coach Ricky Goddard but Pete Wells took charge and only narrowly lost out to Premiership stalwarts Northampton Saints in one of the closest contests of the weekend. It was a game both sides could have claimed victory with scores level going into the final quarter. In the last quarter Sharks managed a narrow lead of three points but were pegged back by Saints. In the end succumbing by a single point. On Sunday they faced Help for Heroes in the 5th/6th play off. Unfortunately, the game had got away in the first half, but Sharks showed fight to keep in second half scores closer. For her effort on court Trish Duffy won Best in Class 1.5. It will be interesting to see how the Sharks fair in the upcoming new season of WR5s as a member of the Premiership.
Help for Heroes
Help for Heroes came with a 2.0 dominant team led by Paul ‘Jinx’ Jenks. They faced North East Barbarians and Penrith Pumas on Saturday. Both games resulted in losses, however H4H had opportunities. They held a slender one-point advantage at half time against Pumas, but Pumas strong Paralympic discipline based team managed to hold on for the win in the second half. On Sunday H4H came back strong with a dominant first half against the Sharks giving them 5th place overall.
North East Barbarians
North East Barbarians were runners up to Tigers in the Premiership and so looked for a good showing here. A statement opening win against Premiership rivals H4H started the weekend strongly. Next up was another northern club Penrith Pumas who had someone in Oliver Wightman who could rival Barbarians leading player Mick Armstrong for reach. Oliver gained several interceptions turning the game to Puma’s win.
The loss to Penrith put Barbarians in a semifinal match against consistently undefeated Tigers. Again, Tigers depth in players and the number of skilled ball handlers was too much for Barbarians. In the 3rd/4th play off with Saints, the game ebbed and flowed with both sides having try advantage. In the end some referee calls at crunch moments that went against Barbarians turned the game in Saints favour.
Although not the result Barbarians had hoped for it was another great experience. Adam Robson led the way as player, coach and mechanic and Kevin Wilkinson, a stalwart of the team who has played in every competitive match. The longer games allowed players to get more court time, and it was great to see youngster Daniel Hassan gain more experience. Abbie Potts was another who seemed to grow as the competition drew on, even after taking some heavy hits.
Northampton Saints
Saints led by Jamie Higgins had some close games over the weekend but in each coming out on top. In both the games against the Sharks and Barbarians the longer game format allowed for Saints superior use of Paralympic discipline tactics of clock running and strategic use of saved time-outs. Credit also to the Saints supporters who livened up games with the support of players. Gary Callier again had a stellar competition winning Best in Class 4.0.
A hard-earned 3rd place in the Cup sets Saints up well for the upcoming season where they will hope to at a minimum regain second place.
Pumas
Penrith Pumas had asked to be part of the Cup to test out players as they seek promotion to the Premiership this upcoming season. After an impressive display many wouldn’t bet against them making the transition. Penrith led by manager Megan Fearnley fielded a team of predominantly Paralympic discipline players and a new player in Oliver Wightman. It was interesting to see how Paralympics discipline players would face up against players with more function. A second-place finish with the only loss coming against Tigers shows this was not a problem. Oliver Wightman’s unexpected height, speed and skill caused a number of teams problems. He deservedly won Most Valuable Player in the Cup competition. He was not the only player to gain recognition for their efforts. Player coach Byron White was awarded Best in Class 1.0. Megan was quick to mention it was a full team effort and mentioned the incredible grit and determination of Sarah. The Nationals was her first tournament and on top of that she had recently undergone surgery so to even make it on court was an achievement worth celebrating let alone her impressive debut. In Megan’s words “she may be small, but she is fierce” and embodies Puma’s determination.
Tigers
Leicester Tigers entered the Cup in dominant form after an unbeaten run to the Premiership title and returning from Poland Cup continued Champions. The Leicester Tigers team has incredible depth with players coming off the bench making immediate impacts and no let up on the speed and accuracy of passing. It is great to see Jamie Stead MBE as coach and part time mechanic and his leadership and knowledge of elite wheelchair rugby having an impressive impact. It takes hard work to remain unbeaten in GBWR competition, but Tigers have managed it and are triple Champions.
It is no surprise that most of the Best-in-Class winners came from Tigers. The best in Class 0.5 was a battle of Tiger teammates with Jack Coulson winning. Karl Major was deemed Best in Class 2.0 and not for the first time Joe Smith was awarded Best in Class 3.0.
Captain of this impressive team Tom Folwell summed it up:
“Being part of the inaugural WR5’s Nationals tournament was great but winning it made it even better. The format, with Paralympic timings, made it feel like a proper tournament with it being played over a full weekend rather than one day, where we had to manage the game time of the team. Hopefully we can continue this format into other tournaments, allowing the game play and tactics in wheelchair rugby five’s to grow more and more”
Coach Jaime Stead MBE added
“I really enjoyed the first ever WR5s National Championships hopefully this becomes an annual event.
The longer timing made it more of a tactical battle and more of a squad game which added something special to the competition.
I’m really proud of the team to complete the treble is no easy feat and it takes something special to have that hunger to keep coming back and wanting more and more.”
WR5s National Shield
The Shield kicked off the weekend’s games with a mix of teams from the Championship including league runners up Coventry Stampede, Stoke Mandeville Maulers, and Berkshire Banshees, aswell as League One Champions Ospreys, Dragons and finally League Two Champions RGC.
Maulers
Stoke Mandeville Maulers had a strong team on paper but unfortunately not everyone was able to turn up. It meant it was left to predominantly the Paralympic discipline team to take up the challenge. Led by player-coach Bob O’Shea and assisted by player-referee Helen Thompson battled hard. Although finishing in 6th place Ben Richardson was awarded Best in Class 0.5 with George Davies winning Best in Class 1.0.
Ospreys
Another team that was forced to run under pointed was Ospreys who had six players across the weekend. Another team was led by a player/coach in Gareth Stokes. In their first match against Coventry, they fought hard to claw back a slow start. By the end of quarter three only three points in it. Unfortunately, Coventry’s depth showed as they pulled away at the end. Ospreys finished the weekend with a clear victory over Maulers with Claire Blackburn surprised but thoroughly deserving her Best in Class 3.0 trophy.
Dragons
The Dragons had a new coaching line up with player Brad Hedges taking on the main position. After an opening loss to Banshees, they were able to get a victory against Maulers putting them into the semifinals against a rampant RGC. Brad acknowledges that the longer games were a new challenge for the players. But that they have a renewed focus on what to work on. Drew Wilkinson deserves a shout out for winning the Best in Class 2.0 trophy in what was his first tournament. Looking forward to what they can bring to the WR5s National Series.
Banshees
Banshees came with a focus on developing new players. An astonishing half of the team had only gained competitive experience at Banshees own Development League the weekend prior. It was also great to see a high number of female players led capably by player coach Sally Sycha. With two wins on day one, unfortunately Coventry is proving too strong in the semifinal. Still Banshees fought back with a well-earned win against Dragons to finish third overall. Sally leading from the front and being awarded with Best in Class 1.5.
Stampede
Coventry Stampede had an interesting weekend. The only Shield team that had their full line up available. With Mandip Sehmi as coach Coventry started strongly in their first game but allowed Ospreys to edge close before pulling away at the end. Their second game was against a dominant RGC who were peerless across the weekend. It would have been easy to be demoralised but Coventry came back on Sunday fighting, winning the semifinal against Banshees. Unfortunately for Stampede this meant the final was a rematch against RGC. The final created the same end result although Coventry pushed hard with RGC a man down from Saturday. Second place is no bad result and leads Coventry well into next season where they will have to face RGC a few more times.
RGC
RGC were undefeated League Two Champions and gained entry to the Shield. After beating League Two opposition it was interesting to see how they matched up to higher division teams. Their team lead by another player coach Mark Baines is small in depth, containing strong Fours players used to this format as well as newcomer Corey Cox. With 6 players on Saturday and 5 on Sunday RGC won every game comfortably. Showing why they considered favourites for back-to-back promotions in WR5s.
What an introduction to wheelchair rugby for Corey who could only make the Saturday. This was Corey’s first wheelchair rugby tournament although he has played wheelchair basketball for a number of years. Corey is said to have enjoyed learning wheelchair rugby finding the transition easy (helps when your teams winning!) and loving the variety both sports bring. In a nice change the Shields Most Valuable Player award went to a low pointer James Harrison 0.5.
Mark Baines on winning the Shield said
“RGC are thoroughly enjoying their 1st season playing WR5s. The WR5s Nationals are a great addition to the events Calendar which we hope will continue. Well done to GBWR for putting on a great event. Thanks to Adam and Mick and all the officials.”
The new WR5s season will get underway in spring 2025 with the calendar due to be confirmed imminently. I along with the players hope to see the longer version retained in some way. While we wait for that let’s support GBWR’s Women and Girls team as they aim to defend their title at the Women’s Cup in Paris. Details about this and their matches can be found on GBWR website and social media.
Written by Hannah Boyle – GBWR Official
