Wheelchair Rugby team narrowly lose battle for bronze

ParalympicsGB finished fourth in the wheelchair rugby competition after a narrow 50-48 defeat to Australia.

The bronze medal match was nip and tuck throughout, the two sides locked, 11-11, 22-22 and 34-34 heading into the final period.

A series of turnovers went Australia’s way in the closing stages and with Ryley Batt scoring 28 tries in 32 minutes, the London 2012 and Rio 2016 champions returned to the podium.

GB’s scoring was led by vice-captain Stuart Robinson, who scored 28 tries.

“If you’d have asked me two years ago, I’d have probably snatched your hand off for the experience of playing for a bronze medal,” said captain Gavin Walker.

“In the end there were too many errors really in the game. We finished it with a timeout and that could have stopped the turnover in our favour, so the better team beat us on the day.

“The team and what we’ve managed to develop over the years has been outstanding and I’m really proud of getting to this stage and the performances we’ve put in.”

Britain claimed three wins from three in the group stages.

They started a narrow 58-55 win over Australia before downing Denmark 55-53 and silencing a partisan Parisian crowd by beating France by a single point.

But they came unstuck against Chuck Aoki’s Team USA, who put on a powerful performance to win 50-43 and leave GB fighting for a place on the podium.

“We go into another rebuilding process, another four years ahead of us and looking towards LA now,” said Walker. “Growing the sport, putting time into grassroots and developing the team going forward.

“For fans out there and people who are watching this, we’re all playing this sport after starting life with a disability or going through some sort of traumatic injury.

“The fact that any athlete in the Paralympics is competing shows they’ve overcome adversity and everyone should be proud of any performance.

“I guess that’s the main message for anyone out there that is struggling - this is something that can get you out of those dark times.”