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Great Britain’s wheelchair rugby team out for GOLD

Jonno sends best wishes
By Kath 9/9/08 September 9 2008
Martin Johnson has backed Great Britain’s wheelchair rugby team in their bid for Paralympic Gold in Beijing later this month. England’s 2003 Rugby World Cup winning captain Martin Johnson has sent the team a message of support ahead of their first match against New Zealand this Friday (kick off 1pm).

 

Paralympic Games, Beijing 2008

Great Britain’s 

Wheelchair Rugby Team


“On behalf of the England squad, I want to wish the GB wheelchair rugby team all the best as they bid for a gold medal in Beijing,” said England Team Manager Johnson.  “They’ve got a tough group with some familiar names like New Zealand and Australia in there, while Germany will I’m sure be very competitive.  “I know they’ve prepared thoroughly and put everything into giving themselves the best change of getting on the podium.”

Seeded fourth, Team GB kicks off against New Zealand at 1pm (UK time) on Friday September 12, before taking on Germany (Saturday September 13, 11am) and second seeds Australia (Sunday September 14, 1pm) in Pool B. Pool A will see top seeds USA take on Canada (3), Japan and China, with the top two sides on each half of the draw progressing to the semi finals on Monday, September 15.

The final takes place on Tuesday September 16. You can follow the team’s progress throughout the Games on the BBC (see coverage details below).


The British team’s preparations were the focus of the fourth programme of the BBC One documentary called "Olympic Dreams" shown in July but available to watch any time through the iplayer on bbc.co.uk. 

Information here about the sport from the Great British Wheelchair Rugby

Wheelchair rugby is a full-blooded sport for tetraplegics – those whose disabilities affect both their lower and upper limbs.

The rules do not resemble able-bodied rugby, but instead have been tailored to ensure that the game has all the tactics, speed and agility that the name ‘rugby’ conjures up. Wheelchair rugby became a full Paralympic sport at Sydney in 2000 and it is without question the fastest-growing wheelchair sport in the world today.

The GB Elite team claimed 5th place at Sydney and 4th in Athens 2004 and are currently ranked 4th in the world and No1 in Europe.

Wheelchair rugby is the only team sport for tetraplegics. and offers players both rehabilitation, health and social benefits as well as significant opportunities for athletic achievement at both national and international levels.  

Check out their video as well here... Footage of the World friendship tour

Paralympic Games, Beijing 2008 -Wheelchair Rugby
* Beijing is 7 hours ahead of GMT time

Pool A         Pool B
1. USA       2. AUS
3. CAN      4. GBR
6. JPN        5. NZL
8. CHN      7. GER

Friday September 12

Local Time - UK Time   -  Game     -   Team
13:00             06:00        Game 1      USA vs. CHN
15:00             08:00        Game 2      CAN vs. JPN
18:00             11:00        Game 3      AUS vs. GER
20:00            13:00       Game 4     GBR vs. NZL


Saturday September 13

Local Time - UK Time   -  Game     -   Team
13:00           06:00          Game 5      CAN vs. CHN
15:00           08:00          Game 6      USA  vs. JPN
18:00           11:00        Game 7      GBR vs. GER
20:00           13:00          Game 8      AUS  vs. NZL


Sunday September 14
Local Time - UK Time   -  Game     -   Team
13:00            06:00         Game 9      JPN vs. CHN
15:00            08:00         Game 10    USA vs. CAN
18:00            11:00         Game 11    NZL vs. GER
20:00            13:00       Game 12    AUS vs. GBR


Monday September 15
Local Time - UK Time   -  Game     -   Team
13:00           06:00        Game 13     3rd Pool A vs. 4th Pool B
15:00           08:00        Game 14     3rd Pool B vs. 4th Pool A
18:00           11:00        Game 15     1st Pool A vs. 2nd Pool B
20:00           13:00        Game 16     1st Pool B vs. 2nd Pool A


Tuesday September 16
Local Time - UK Time   -  Game     -   Team

13:00           06:00        Game 17       L13 vs. L14 - 7/8 Placing
 15:00           08:00        Game 18      W14 vs. W13 - 5/6 Placing
    18:00           11:00        Game 19       L16 vs. L15 - Bronze Medal
   20:00           13:00        Game 20      W15 vs. W16 - Gold Medal 

Paralympics coverage on BBC TV
The Paralympics 6-17 September 
Live coverage on BBCi 
10.00am-4.00pm
There will be continuous live/as live coverage of the Games on BBCi throughout the day. 

Paralympics 2008 
7.00-8.00pm (Monday-Friday)
BBC Two/BBC HD
Clare Balding and Steve Cram present the best of the day's action at the Paralympics in Beijing. Viewers will get a round-up of all the news and action as we follow Team GB's Paralympians on their quest for glory. 

Paralympics 2008
12.50-4.30pm (Saturday & Sunday)
(please note times may vary) 
BBC One/BBC Two/BBC HD 
Clare Balding and Steve Cram present live coverage from the Paralympics in Beijing.

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12 Sep, 2008 11:21 Report
Badger Me Up (IP Logged)
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Re: Great Britain’s wheelchair rugby team out for GOLD
good luck to them

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12 Sep, 2008 14:57 Report
Barney1 (IP Logged)
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Re: Great Britain’s wheelchair rugby team out for GOLD
Great Britain 39 - New Zealand 38

Troye Collins scored the winning goal with 3.8 seconds left on the clock to give Great Britain victory over defending gold medalists New Zealand. After New Zealand tied (38-38) through the efforts of captain Daniel Buckingham, the Great Britain players quickly gave the ball to Collins. He held it for 23 seconds before he found the gap in the Kiwis' defense and crossed the goal line.

Collins had a game-high 17 goals and added seven assists.

"It's unbelievable," Collins said. "We have trained four years for this. We narrowly lost to them two years ago in the world championships and four years ago in Athens 2004. We just came out here and gave it our all. We still believed we could beat them. It is truly awesome. Though it's the first game and we still have a long way to go, we have strong self belief."

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12 Sep, 2008 21:01 Report
Slater582 (IP Logged)
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Re: Great Britain’s wheelchair rugby team out for GOLD
Saw the highlights on the Beeb, well done fellas.

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15 Sep, 2008 16:39 Report
Kath. (IP Logged)
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Re: Great Britain’s wheelchair rugby team out for GOLD
Sat. Result

Match No: 8 GBR 39 - 35 GER

Wheelchair Rugby : Australia and Great Britain advance to the semifinals


Sun: Result

Match No: 11 AUS 43 - 37 GBR


---------------------------------------------------------

Bronze went to Canada

Canada beats Great Britain 47-41 (Bronze medal match)

Athens silver medal team Canada embarked on a 3-0 run at the end of the first period for an 11-8 lead after five and a half minutes. Great Britain stayed close in the score until the end of the third quarter, when two turnovers helped Canada enlarge its lead to 35-29. Mike Whitehead scored 14 goals to lead Canada in scoring, while Fabien Lavoie joined him with 11 goals. Ian Chan added eight goals and six assists.





Mon: Result

Match No: 15 USA 35 - 32 GBR

Tue: 15/9/08


Wheelchair Rugby : United States, Australia battle for the gold

and...............

GBR going for Bronze

1100 am UK time
Match No: 19 GBR - CAN



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008:09:19:10:58:41 by Kath..

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