It is a case of so close, yet so far for Great Britain’s wheelchair rugby team, who are unable to come away from Paris with a medal for their efforts. Team GB finish their campaign in fourth place overall, after defeat to the Steelers of Australia in this afternoon’s bronze medal final.
After sailing through the group with three consecutive wins over Australia, Denmark and France, Great Britain were undone in the semi-finals of the 2024 Paris Paralympics wheelchair rugby competition. Team GB were defeated by the United States, which sent Paul Shaw’s side into the Bronze Medal match for a reunion with the Steelers of Australia.
Australia were 15 seconds away from a place in the Gold medal match, yet they squandered a lead against Japan to end up in the third place play off. GB and Australia met in the opening round of the tournament, with Great Britain getting the 58-55 win over the team in green and gold. Both sides entered the match fielding two high-point players, as GB’s Aaron Phipps and Stu Robinson took on Australia’s Chris Bond, and the man regarded as the best player in the world, the unstoppable powerhouse Ryley Batt enjoyed his Paralympic farewell.
Despite the quartet of the high-point players taking to the court, 0.5 pointer Jack Smith was the third man on Great Britain’s score-sheet. After Robinson and Phipps got their first tries of the match, Smith was on hand to collect a looping pass down the court, and delighted the GB faithful who packed themselves into the Champ-de-Mars Arena.
Aaron Phipps was sent to the sin-bin just three minutes into the first quarter, following a reaching foul against Batt. Shortly after Stu Robinson was replaced, in what was a rare exit for vice-captain. The substitution was purely a tactical one, as each coach tried to keep their opponent guessing with rapid replacements. Robinson returned after a single phase of play, with the mental mind games evident between Paul Shaw and his opposite man Brad Dubberley.
Ryley Batt pulled off an audacious pass to assist Bond’s try, as the retiring legend spun to face away from the in-goal area, and sent a long looping ball over his head to his Australia teammate. Bond crossed over for his team’s 10th score, before GB immediately returned fire with Robinson powering his way to the try-line. The final say of the half was from Team GB, as Phipps was awarded the penalty try after being illegally halted. Phipps stole the ball against the run of play, with the match balanced on a knife-edge ahead of the second quarter.
END OF FIRST QUARTER: AUSTRALIA 11 – 11 GREAT BRITAIN
Robinson made his way over the Aussie try-line straight from the re-start, with the score earning Great Britain their first lead of the match. However, as is the case of the end to end sport, the lead was short lived, with Batt then crossing over for his eighth try of the bronze final.
Chris Bond then executed a brilliant recovery after a heavy collision sent him down to the court. Bond bounced back up off the ground after being tipped onto his forearms, and was back upright to rejoin the physical fray, after a clattering coming-together with Aaron Phipps.
The end-to-end scoring did not relent from the yo-yo fashion, with Australia happy to oblige any Great British tries with a point of their own. The scores crept into the 20s mid-way through the second quarter, before Phipps was again sent to the sin-bin for a second reaching foul. Incredibly, despite the player disadvantage, Stu Robinson stole the ball against the run of attack, and pinned Australia back for valuable seconds before their next try.
Great Britain were in command of the clock ahead of the half-time break, with Jonny Coggan taking the plaudits after riding a heavy shot from Batt. The 0.5 point player withstood a heavy shot intended to send him touch, before shifting off the pass to Phipps for a try. But it would be Australia to send the ‘hail Mary’ down the court, with Beau Vernon collecting the loose bouncing ball and heading over GB’s try-line in the final play of the half, to keep the scores level at the break.
END OF SECOND QUARTER (HALF TIME): AUSTRALIA 22 – 22 GREAT BRITAIN
Australia introduced hard-hitting defender Ella Sabljack, with the fan favourite receiving a warm ovation from the Aussie faithful. 30 seconds in to the third quarter, Batt was penned in by the GB combo of Phipps and Robinson, which forced a coaches time-out from the Australian side-lines.
Australia and Great Britain continued to make their opponents work for each and every score, with the attacking arsenals tested throughout the latter stages of the Parisian clash. The technical fouls and in-bound offences continued to add up, as both sides began to throw caution to the wind with the third-place silverware on the line. Phipps showcased why he’s regarded as the fastest man on court, as he sped away from his own half to score GB’s 29th try at the mid-way point of the third period.
There was a stoppage in play with two minutes remaining, as Jack Smith required some maintenance to his chair. This came at the perfect time for the Australians, who utilised the unforced time-out to score and take the lead into the last minute and a half of the period. Smith was then a matter of metres away from a breakaway try down the other end of the court, yet the ball bounced out of bounds and away from his grasp.
Great Britain scored with three seconds left in the third period, as the reigning gold medalists navigated the choppy Australian defence to draw level just ahead of the break. GB took the all important starting possession into the final quarter, with the scores once again all square ahead of the last eight minutes of the match.
END OF THIRD QUARTER: AUSTRALIA 34 – 34 GREAT BRITAIN
There were two turnovers in quick succession, with GB conceding two losses of possession in the early goings of the final quarter. This put the squeeze on Great Britain, who stretched their lead to two points (38-36), with the small margins of difference proving costly in the high stakes games.
In his final match at the games, Batt showcased his long-serving strength as he refused to hit the deck after Robinson broke away to his unbalance. Batt toppled over but kept himself up with his powerful shoulder strength, even after a career of heavy collisions on the wheelchair rugby court. Comparatively, Phipps continued to have issues with his chair, with the mechanic called onto court to issue fresh tires and connecting cables after many hard hits.
The constant issues with Phipps’ chair enforced Great Britain head coach Paul Shaw to call a team time out. The sports chairs are often hard to break, yet the kit was well banged up after an exhaustive Paralympic campaign in GB’s fourth and final match. Batt then crossed over for his 150th try of the 2024 Paris Games, as the legend of the game left his mark on his final match. Batt followed this up with a searing smash on Robinson, with the ball shipped wayward for an Australian turnover which put them three tries to the good (45-42).
GB closed the gap to two points with a minute and 15 seconds remaining, after Robinson stole the ball and muscled his way over to score. However, the Britons were unable to narrow down the deficit any further as shortly after, Robinson failed to collect an overhead pass which gifted away possession. Australia returned the ball down the pitch for a three point gap with 30 seconds to go, and secured the bronze medals in the process.
END OF FOURTH QUARTER (FULL TIME): AUSTRALIA 50 – 48 GREAT BRITAIN
AUSTRALIA: 50
TRIES: 50 (Batt x28, Bond x15, Vernon x3, Edmondson x2)
TURNOVERS: 1 (Bond x1)
STEALS: 1 (Vernon x1)
PENALTIES: 3 (Batt x3)
GREAT BRITAIN: 48
TRIES: 48 (Robinson x28, Phipps x14, Smith x3, Stead x1)
TURNOVERS: 6 (Robinson x4, Coggan x1, Phipps x1)
STEALS: 4 (Robinson x2, Phipps x2)
PENALTIES: 5 (Phipps x4, Smith x1)