Hello to all News Shopper readers! Although I’ve been posting for a little while now, I gather this is only my second entry in the main “Blog Section”. I just wanted to take this opportunity to say thanks for reading, and to urge you to stick with me through all the “jargon”. Wheelchair Rugby is a great Sport, but it’s obviously quite unlike anything most people have ever seen before! This Blog does go out to other sites and consequently, I do find myself writing slightly above the “layman”.

If you want to know more about the basic rules, you can find a brief beginners guide at the “Disability Sport” page of the BBC Website. Go to the following link…

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/disability_sport/7607032.stm

…to see my ugly mug and let me take you through some of the finer points of this Paralympic Sport. Alternatively you can search “You Tube” for some of the game’s best bits and biggest hits or simply Google “Wheelchair Rugby” to find out more about the strange world that I inhabit. Anyway, that’s quite enough rambling; please enjoy my latest entry below…

We arrived in Montreal a day after Hamilton and Button’s one-two in the F1, looking to pick up where they’d left off. Brutal heat courtside and a punishing schedule really ramped up the pressure on GB in their final warm up tournament before Worlds.

The “Canada Cup” took a round robin format this year so for most teams that meant two three-game days followed by a single placing game. European Champions Belgium were first up but clinical pressing by GB saw last year’s tournament MVP “Lars Mertens” (3.5) doubled out of the game and the injury-hit Belgians were out of sight by half time. The game finished 57-45, setting a good platform for our clash with Japan.

The Japanese came with extra firepower this year in the form of “Daisuke Ikezake” (3.0) who used his height and agility to great effect, giving Japan a second credible line-up for the first time. GB battled throughout and there were never more than two goals in it. We even gained the lead briefly in the fourth but a late turnover restored Japan’s advantage and the final score was 49-50 in their favour.

Good news off-court came in the form of Troye Collins’ classification being changed from 2.5 to 2.0. This gave GB some great new line-up options for later in the Tournament but we had different plans for our next opponents. The Germans had brought a more developing squad to Montreal for several reasons so we were able to use the game to experiment with some of our newer line-ups. Germany produced a spirited performance, shocking us early but they never really had the tools to sustain their great start. The game went to form and we ended up winning 51-43.

Day One over and we arrived back at the hotel at half past nine at night, staring down the barrel of a six thirty bus the next morning, followed by back to back games with Australia and Sweden. Needless to say, dinner was swift! It was nice to play early as the heat wasn’t quite as bad and we did a good job of containing Ozzie force “Ryley Batt” in the first half. Good chemistry was evident with key players really stepping up to the plate when it mattered. “Steve Palmer” (1.5) had a particularly good game in the 2.5, 2.0, 2.0, 1.5 line, but GB still couldn’t stop Australia recording a 48-45 victory.

Immediately after came Sweden, hungry for revenge after the one-goal win we inflicted on them in January. Unfortunately GB were concentrating on newer lines for this game. The Swedish performance was totally professional and they pressed home their advantage in clinical fashion to take the game 51-42. Sweden plays some of the hardest Rugby in today’s game and their uncompromising style was an excellent test for veterans and rookies alike in our squad.

Our last game on Day Two came against hosts, Canada. It was another tight contest with both sides countering each other’s move and then changing tack again and again. Canada have a multitude of lines and favour a fast rotation policy to wear teams down. I was pleased to see that GB pushed them hard throughout, forcing their starters back on court. Sadly, it wasn’t to be our day and we were defeated 47-50, setting up a re-match with Belgium on the final day.

Once again, we hit Belgium with everything we had in the first half and had stretched out a considerable lead by the mid-point of the third quarter. We then rotated to a rookie line-up of Phipps (3.5), Brown (2.5), Roberts (1.5) and Coggan (0.5). The mix of experience and youth really blended well and these four guys played some of the most attractive Rugby of the Tournament. Great pace and power came from Aaron Phipps, while Steve Brown’s composure belied his short International career. GB finished the Canada Cup on a high; beating the tired Belgians 59-42 and taking fifth place overall.

Special congratulations go out to Mandip Sehmi who picked up the “Best 2.5” award at the Tournament. Manny is now on “Twitter”. To follow him, you simply need to go to www.twitter.com and search “mandipsehmi” (all one word). Next time I’ll be reviewing the climax of the UK Club season; The National Championships!