Great Britain were back in action, for their second pool stage match of the 2024 Paris Paralympics wheelchair rugby event this morning. The reigning gold medalists from Tokyo, Team GB entered the match hot, following their opening round win over Australia (58-55). Great Britain took on Denmark in match day two, with the Champ-de-Mars Arena hosting this battle between the two European heavyweights.
An early turnover hindered GB after less than a minute played. Leon Jorgensen capitalised on Stu Robinson’s miss placed pass, to take Denmark into the advantageous position of back-to-back tries. Great Britain’s high point players, Robinson and Aaron Phipps, were both combining passes in the early goings to work GB over the try-line.
Denmark were happy to return the ball for their own scores after every GB attack, with Sebastian Fredriksen and Jorgensen flying down the court. Denmark utilised a high press upon GB’s high-point players, with Phipps and Robinson pulling out all the tricks, with slight evades and bounce passes keeping the score-board ticking over.
GB called for their first time out after just four minutes, with Jamie Stead replacing Phipps and Nick Cummins on for Jonny Coggan. Stead had an immediate impact, with the Leicester Tigers captain and player-coach over to score. Stead followed this up with a turnover, as he stripped the ball of a Denmark player and found Robinson for the back-to-back tries.
However, the Danes would return the favour, with Jorgensen outmuscling Robinson to an air-borne pass, before exploding down the court to re-take the lead. Cummins was soon over to score his first point of the games, as he combined with his Tigers teammate Stead for GB’s 12th try of the match. The reigning gold medalists then showcased some expert key defence with one minute remaining of the first quarter, as Coggan and Cummins closed the gap on Jorgensen, giving the Danish talisman no where to go.
GB scored a try with five seconds left of the first quarter, with Robinson running down the clock before finding Stead. Robinson followed this up with an immediate intercept to give GB the lead before the first break, in what was a costly error from Denmark’s defence.
END OF 1ST QUARTER: GREAT BRITAIN 14 – 13 DENMARK
Great Britain captain Gavin Walker was introduced off the bench for the second quarter, and the Leicester Tigers man had an immediate impact over the try-line. Jakob Mortensen also made his mark for Denmark, as the two-time electric hockey world champion crossed over the GB key for his first try. A fired up Robinson remained very much in the mix as he carved up the court, as did the Danish powerhouse Mark Peters, who bulldozed over to score.
The scoreboard creeped into the 20s mid-way through the second quarter, with the hard-hitting action balanced on the proverbial knife-edge out in Paris. Phipps returned with three and a half minutes left of the first half, and immediately lifted the tempo with a try and a resilient defensive effort. Danish low-point player Kaare Momme marked his introduction with a clever reversing score, before six-time Paralympian Jonny Coggan delighted the GB fans with a brilliant catch in the in-goal area.
The first tip over then took place, with Jorgensen getting a taste of the court as he chased down Aaron Phipps. The GB flyer was too quick for the Danish backtracker, who overstretched and toppled over to hit the deck. Robinson ran the clock down, before a player time-out with 15 seconds left to play. The GB vice-captain then shipped the ball to Phipps, as Paul Shaw’s side took a one-point lead into the half-time break.
END OF 2ND QUARTER (HALF TIME): GREAT BRITAIN 28 – 27 DENMARK
There was an early turnover for Denmark shortly after the re-start, as Jack Smith miss-played a pass from the touchline with the Danes levelling up the score-line (28-28). Fredrikesen continued to showcase how despite being underdogs, Denmark are here to compete and not just make up the numbers with well-worked tries.
The go-to GB combination of Robinson and Phipps returned for the second half, to return fire upon Denmark following each attack from the red and whites. Phipps crossed over for his 10th try exactly half way through the third quarter, before Peters lived up to his hometown club’s name the ‘Frederiksburg Falcons’ by gliding down the court to score the return try.
GB executed a clever defensive technique, as they man-marked Peters out of the game and forced a turnover with two minutes left on the third quarter clock. Robinson then found himself on the deck, but the former RAF serviceman retained possession due to the heavy player-to-player contact made by the Danish team. Great Britain continued to wind down the clock, with the sold out arena keeping themselves entertained with Mexican waves.
END OF 3RD QUARTER: GREAT BRITAIN 41 – 40 DENMARK
Denmark low-point player Homme missed a catch, with the ball bouncing out over the in-goal area. GB returned fire right away, with Jonny Coggan racing away down the court to extend Britain’s lead. GB racked up three consecutive scores, for a 44-41 lead early in the final period. Jamie Stead then gave away a turnover, with Jakob Mortensen stealing the ball from his grasp, before he narrowed down the score deficit to two points.
The Danes briefly reduced the score to one point, with Mortensen again catching the ball past the GB key. Denmark piled on the pressure in the knowledge that a single try against the flow of attack would bring the teams back level. Phipps continued to lead Paul Shaw’s side over the try line, as GB hit the 50-point mark with little over two minutes remaining.
The heavy collisions continued to fly in, with Robinson stealing the ball and charging down the court to re-extend GB’s lead to a concise three points with back-to-back scores (53-51). Jamie Stead was thenreintroduced for Phipps, and he backed himself to go the length of the court for GB’s 54th point with a minute left of the match. The ball would swap ends once more before the final whistle, with Great Britain going two wins from two in the Paralympics campaign.
END OF 4TH QUARTER (FULL TIME): GREAT BRITAIN 55 – 53 DENMARK
GREAT BRITAIN: 55
TRIES: 55 (Robinson x26, Phipps x12, Stead x6, Walker x4, Cummins x3, Flynn x2, Coggan x2)
TURNOVERS: 1 (Phipps x1)
STEALS: 4 (Robinson x3, Stead x1)
PENALTIES: 4 (Stead x2, Flynn x1, Robinson x1)
DENMARK: 53
TRIES: 53 (Peters x21, Fredriksen x12, Jorgensen x6, Mortensen x5, Momme x5, Krueger x1)
TURNOVERS: 2 (Momme x1, Fredriksen x1)
STEALS: 4 (Fredriksen x2, Mortensen x1, Skoubo x1)
PENALTIES: 3 (Fredriksen x2, Momme x1)