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The Australian Steelers have installed themselves as early favourites for the Paralympic gold medal in 2024 after their victory at the 2023 International Wheelchair Rugby Cup in Paris.
The Australians delivered a masterful performance in Monday’s final against Canada, winning 53-48.
Canada simply could not find an answer after they lost the ball in their first attacking raid. The Steelers converted the turnover into a try and did not relinquish the lead from there.
Not normally prone to exuberant celebrations, Australian head coach Brad Dubberley let his guard down at full-time and was quick to praise his entire squad for their performances over the past week.
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“International Wheelchair Rugby Cup Champions, that has a nice ring to it,” Dubberley said.
“Absolutely everyone jumped in and contributed to this win. From the athletes, coaching staff, team management and all of our support staff here, it’s a huge team win for our whole program.
“It’s almost exactly a year ago since we won the World Championship and to come to this tournament a year later, test ourselves again against the world’s eight best team and come away with the win is massive.
“After we lost that first game to Canada by one, we regrouped and kept building and building and building throughout the week.”
It capped a memorable tournament for the Australians, who lost 49-48 to Canada in their opening pool match before bouncing back with impressive wins over reigning Paralympic champions Great Britain and world championship semi-finalists Denmark in the pool round.
They then progressed to the final with a gutsy 52-48 win over Asia Oceania champions Japan in the semi-final, breaking a four-year losing streak against their arch-rivals in the process.
“I’m super proud of this team. It’s been an awesome campaign in lots of ways. Not just the results, but the way we have been able to put some good minutes [on court] into the players, we just continue to grow and build,” Dubberley said.
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The final ended an arduous campaign for the Steelers, who staged an intense five-day pre-tournament training camp in Melbourne – their second in a month – before departing for Europe.
Their next major assignment is the Paris 2024 qualification tournament in New Zealand from 18-22 March.
“We’ve got some other players back home who will come into this team before Paralympics so there are a lot positives for us as look towards next year.
“The sky is the limit from here, this isn’t the finished product. I’m really looking forward to what we can produce in some big tournaments coming up.”
“We know our opponents are going to improve as well but we’re obviously heading in the right direction.”
In the bronze medal match, Japan defeated France 50-49 to disappoint the noisy and parochial crowd supporting the host nation.
International Wheelchair Rugby Cup: Paris, France – 18 – 21 October, 2023
Final Standings
1. AUSTRALIA
2. Canada
3. Japan
4. France
5. Great Britain
6. United States
7. Denmark
8. New Zealand
By: Tim Mannion, Paralympics Australia
Posted: 23 October 2023
Image: Megumi Masuda
