Great Britain have commenced their mission to defend their Paralympic Wheelchair Rugby gold medals, with their first win of their pool stage fixtures taking place this morning in Paris. Team GB took on an impressive Australian side, with the reigning Paralympic gold medal holders facing off with the 2023 World Champions. End to end tries kept the score-board ticking over, as both nations showcased their skills upon the opening day of the tournament.
The player considered to be the best in the world, was at his very best from the first tip off. Australia’s Ryley Batt powered his way over for nine tries in the first quarter of the match, as the tempo was set for the Paralympic’s opening game. The scoring was shared between the two sides for the opening period of action, with GB utilising every second of the first quarter for a 14-13 lead. GB scored the all-important last point of the yo-yoing first period, to take a subtle advantage into the second quarter of the match.
The duo of Aaron Phipps and Stuart Robinson collated the points for GB in the first quarter, with vice-captain Robinson even battling back from being up-ended from his chair following a brutal coming together with two Aussie defenders. Great Britain introduced team captain Gavin Walker at the start of the second period, with Kieran Flynn also earning his Paralympic debut in match day one. Flynn promptly crossed over for his first Paralympic career try, before Walker scored a try of his own upon the following trip to the Steelers’ in-goal area.
END OF 1ST QUARTER: AUSTRALIA 13 – 14 GREAT BRITAIN
The first turnover of the match saw Batt dominate Flynn to a loose ball, as the Australian shepherded the bounce across the touchline. This brought a close to the end to end scoring, with Chris Bond then grabbing the lead-taking try for Australia. Phipps returned for Team GB to lift the tempo, and immediately powered his way over for a try.
GB then achieved a crucial in-game turnover of their own, with Robinson recovering a loose ball, before shipping a pass to Jonny Coggan to score. The six-time Paralympian is a record holder for GB athletes, and he scored a significant try against the flow of Australian attack. Australia’s high-point players then combined for the most impressive try of the match, with Bond’s beautifully weighted bounce pass finding Batt, for a try towards the end of the second quarter.
Australia then introduced Beau Vernon with a minute remaining in the second quarter, and the substitute grabbed back-to-back scores to keep his side within the tight contest. GB kept possession for the final attack of the first half, with Phipps again scoring the last try, to take a 28-27 lead into the break.
END OF 2ND QUARTER (HALF TIME): AUSTRALIA 27 – 28 GREAT BRITAIN
Ella Sabljak was introduced for Australia at the beginning of the second half, and she quickly began to fly into heavy blocks. Sabljack up-ended Jack Smith out of his chair in the early goings of the third quarter, as the former wheelchair basketball player has taken to the sport with great aplomb, and lit up Paris with some earth shattering collisions.
Andrew Edmondson battled his way onto the score-sheet, with the Sydney University star introduced by Australia in the second half. The see-sawing score-line continued, with Phipps and Robinson trading tries with Australia’s Batt and Bond throughout the third period of play. Edmondson almost turned over possession mid-way through the third period, yet the areal ball bounced off the bracket of his chair and out into touch.
Aaron Phipps then exploded into Ella Sabljak with a thunderous hit, with the Australian sent flying backwards and penalised for leaving the court. Sabljak could do little about it, with Phipps presenting the sheer extent of his power for an important penalty. GB capitalised on the extra player with a serious directness to their attack, and soon led by two points. Bond then pulled off an audacious no-look spinning pass to find his teammate Sabljak, who made amends for her previous penalty with her first try of the Paralympics.
Stu Robinson made a brilliant try-saving collision, as he shunted into Batt after the Australian exploded down the court. Robinson pinned the power-player against the corner post of the try-line, and stopped him from crossing to score. With less than a minute to go of the third period, Robinson collected a loose ball and looked sure-fire to be in for a try, before Phipps was hit at the rear-axel by Bond, in a thunderous coming together.
Phipps hit the deck, and the play was called back for the illegal contact, with GB awarded a penalty try in Phipps’ name. Phipps then took control of the ball and flew down the court to extend the lead to three points clear. The last 30 seconds of the third quarter were crucial for Team GB, as the reigning Paralympic champions took a 43-40 lead into the last quarter.
END OF 3RD QUARTER: AUSTRALIA 40 – 43 GREAT BRITAIN
Tensions were high going into the final quarter, with Chris Bond narrowing down the deficit to one point from the re-start. However, Phipps and Robinson combined to score and bring the lead back up to three, and settled the nerves ahead of an end-to-end final period.
The intensity of the collisions remained at a clattering high, with Phipps amongst the players requiring wheelchair repairs, as the match began to take its toll. Jack Smith shone in GB’s 50th score, as the blocker disrupted the defensive tracking of three Australians, with Robinson and Phipps again able to combine for the try.
From such impressive accolades to a carless mishap, Smith then gifted Australia a try. A loose-pass at the re-start bounced in line for Ryley Batt, and this lapse in concentration allowed Australia to narrow down the margin to just one point after two consecutive scores. Such mistakes are pivotal in wheelchair rugby, as the final time-out of the match was called with three and a half minutes remaining on the clock, with the scores poised at 52-51.
‘Free from Desire’ energised the crowd in the final time out, with the GB players amongst those fired up. Coggan collected a long looping pass from Robinson, to get the points scoring back under way. Jack Smith would then get on the score-board, with the 0.5 classification player over for his first try of the tournament.
A huge moment followed with just under two minutes left on the clock, as Stu Robinson was turned over on the Australian try-line. The drama continued instantly as Aaron Phipps stole the ball back into GB possession, with the crisis immediately averted and the three point deficit resumed for Great Britain. Batt was then tipped onto the wood following a heavy contact with Jack Smith and Aaron Phipps, but the Steelers had used up all their time outs with GB grabbing a breakaway try for a four-point lead (57-53).
It was smiles all round as Aaron Phipps held onto the ball for the final blast on the whistle. Great Britain won the first match of the 2024 Paris Paralympics, and ignited their title defence with an exhilarating performance in the French capital.
END OF 4TH QUARTER (FULL TIME): AUSTRALIA 55 – 58 GREAT BRITAIN
AUSTRALIA: 55
TRIES: 55 (Batt x36, Bond x12, Vernon x3, Edmondson x1, Sabljak x1)
TURNOVERS: 3 (Batt x2, Sabljak x1)
STEALS: 2 (Batt x1, Bond x1)
PENALTIES: 5 (Sabljak x1, Batt x1, Bond x2, Vernon x1)
GREAT BRITAIN: 58
TRIES: 58 (Phipps x25, Robinson x23, G.Walker x3, Coggan x2, Smith x1, Flynn x1)
TURNOVERS: 2 (Phipps x1, Smith x1)
STEALS: 3 (Robinson x2, Phipps x1)
PENALTIES: 2 (Smith x1, Phipps x1)