A national title for our wheelchair team!

National Division 1 Champions!

 

The final league weekend for our Division 1 team was a ‘short trip’ north to Sunderland where we the team headed into the fixtures in first place and unbeaten, knowing a fourth place finish would mean we would be crowned champions.

On the Saturday (1st March), the team played the North East Bulls Udders, and picked up where they had left off with a convincing 61 – 30 win, thanks to excellent performances from Harry Hamilton and Brice Maurel. This was followed by 50 – 40 win against London Crusaders and another win against West Coast Heat, in which the game finished 48 – 31. The three wins not only meant Tigers topped the pool, but also were guaranteed at least a fourth place finish meaning that the league title had been secured a day early.

 

 

Despite knowing that the title had been won, the team did not let up in their first game against the other West Coast team (Burn), where Tyler Walker and Alex Smart shone as the team ended up winning 54 – 39, stretching their winning streak to 14 games. However, the final against an improved RGC 1404, was a lot closer game, with our opponents winning 44 – 42, and ended our unbeaten season. The trophy presentation followed this game and then to add to the team’s further successes, Tyler Walker also picked up the best in class award for the 3.5 category.

Despite the final result, this was a massive achievement for team in winning the Division 1 title in the team’s debut season, and the team will go onto compete in the Premiership later in the year.

 

 

RESULTS

Pool A
61 – 30 win v. North East Bulls Udders
50 – 40 win v. London Crusaders
48 – 31 win v. West Coast Heat

Semi-Final
54 – 39 win v. West Coast Burn

Final
44 – 42 loss v. RGC 1404

 

SQUAD

3.5 Tyler Walker (Gloucester)
2.5 Brice Maurel (Montpellier, France)
2.0 Joe Skidmore (Gloucester)
1.5 Kyran Bishop (Pontypool)
1.0 Harry Hamilton (Cheltenham)
1.0 Alex Smart (c) (Cheltenham)
1.0 Luke Wilson (c) (Cheltenham)
HC Paul Shaw (Birmingham)
AC Darren Ransome (Cannock)