Tokyo 2020 Paralympics: Wheelchair rugby

OP

Yeah this is a really good match, and very surprising to hear that GB's main try-scorer is from my hometown!

Now to find out if I can watch the earlier games on All4, otherwise I'll be wishing I could have Eurosport back...

Reply 4

OP

I don't handle stressful sporting matches very well and that was stressful! :lol:

I can't believe how little information the C4 website has about the teams/players, their numbers and their classifications. How teams split out their on court allowance is a really key part of the tactics.

Reply 6

OP

Original post by PQ

I can't believe how little information the C4 website has about the teams/players, their numbers and their classifications. How teams split out their on court allowance is a really key part of the tactics.

The commentary was quite good to that end but the website is awful. Which is classic Channel 4, dreadful website but actually great sports coverage on the TV!

Reply 7

OP

Didn't get to see this one as closely because of work and lunch and stuff, but another very tight match just now!

Original post by Saracen's Fez

Didn't get to see this one as closely because of work and lunch and stuff, but another very tight match just now!

That's pretty common in WR - if you have possession you're expected to score (within 40 seconds) - it's only possible to get a goal advantage by an error from the other side, intercepting the ball on a pass or stopping the other side from scoring in 40s/crossing the halfway line in 12s. Getting one turnover and scoring and then maintaining that lead is how most matches are won.

It makes for good watching! But nerve-wracking

Big score differences like in the US/NZ match are unusual (except where the teams are very unevenly matched). The international ranking for WR is really tight - there's been little to split the difference between the top group for ages (US, Canada, Australia, GB). That's why TeamGB have struggled with funding - there's only one medal contest per paralympics for WR (even with basketball there's a mens and womens medal contest - but because WR is mixed and inclusive there's only one set of medals) and we keep coming 4th and not getting a medal (often missing out on silver or bronze by 1 point). So Sport England slashed GBWR funding after 2012 and they've had to fundraise to keep people training even while interest in the sport has been booming.

Reply 9

OP

Thing someone pointed out to me that I now want to find out: what's the difference between wheelchair rugby and wheelchair rugby league? From what I can work out, wheelchair rugby isn't rugby union, it's governed totally separately from rugby union and World Rugby. Whereas wheelchair rugby league is an integral part of the sport of rugby league, and its world cups meant to happen alongside the able-bodied world cups this autumn (now postponed to next year).

Is the gameplay significantly different?

Original post by Saracen's Fez

Thing someone pointed out to me that I now want to find out: what's the difference between wheelchair rugby and wheelchair rugby league? From what I can work out, wheelchair rugby isn't rugby union, it's governed totally separately from rugby union and World Rugby. Whereas wheelchair rugby league is an integral part of the sport of rugby league, and its world cups meant to happen alongside the able-bodied world cups this autumn (now postponed to next year).

Is the gameplay significantly different?

yes they're very different

WR was initially called murderball. It was designed for players who don't have the upper body mobility to play wheelchair basketball.
When it became popular the paralympic association etc needed it to be renamed for consideration for the paralympics so it was renamed wheelchair rugby. The rules of WR were developed without any reference or similarity to rugby - it's only been in recent years that WR has started talking about "tries" instead of goals or points.

Wheelchair rugby league is a much more recent sport designed by rugby league bodies, played with a rugby ball in standard sports wheelchairs and with many more rules in common with rugby league. It's not recognised by the paralympic association yet for consideration for inclusion in the paralympics (the "5s" variant of WR that has been developed along with invictus games to open up WR to "less disabled" players is more likely to make it to the paralympics first)

Reply 11

OP

Original post by PQ

WR was initially called murderball. It was designed for players who don't have the upper body mobility to play wheelchair basketball.
When it became popular the paralympic association etc needed it to be renamed for consideration for the paralympics so it was renamed wheelchair rugby. The rules of WR were developed without any reference or similarity to rugby - it's only been in recent years that WR has started talking about "tries" instead of goals or points.

So having Ed Jackson presenting on Channel 4 from their rugby union coverage and comparing things to 15s is all a bit retrospective then?? :lol:

That's all very interesting though, thanks for the explanation!

Original post by Saracen's Fez

So having Ed Jackson presenting on Channel 4 from their rugby union coverage and comparing things to 15s is all a bit retrospective then?? :lol:

That's all very interesting though, thanks for the explanation!

WR is also known as "quad rugby" - compared to other wheelchair sports WR competitors generally have function similar to T51-52 in wheelchair racing, H1 in handcycle, Grade I in equestrian, S1 in swimming - limited trunk and limitation to at least one upper limb. In wheelchair basketball they'd be 1 point or 1.5 point players.

There's been a lot of politics in the UK about the development of the 5s/invictus version of the game given it's roots as a sport for quad players.

Reply 13

OP

Decent match that one too: France and Canada now look dead and buried in terms of getting semi-final spots, though neither mathematically out of the reckoning yet.

(edited 3 years ago)

Team GB v the Wheel Blacks on now :biggrin:

Reply 15

OP

Think it's fair enough to say GB will win this!

Original post by Saracen's Fez

Think it's fair enough to say GB will win this!

I think you might be right - good to see them using the lead to give game time to more players and try out different combinations too

Be interesting to see the final goal difference compared to the USvNZ match yesterday

I feel bad for the kids doing half time entertainment that the cameras are just completely ignoring

Reply 18

OP