Leicester Tigers Wheelchair Rugby Swifts battled admirably in the opening weekend of the 2024/25 season.
Only formed this time last year, the development side took on the task of competing in Division One, which proved challenging with defeats to West Country Burn, RGC 1404 and North East Bulls Udders on Saturday (October 19) as well as London Crusaders and West Country Hawks on Sunday (October 20).
However, the team demonstrated significant progress throughout the tournament, with their closest match coming in the weekend's final outing.
Held at Stoke Mandeville Stadium in Aylesbury, the fixtures were invaluable for many fledgling players still adapting to the demands of the elite levels of Wheelchair Rugby.
Commenting on the weekend, Head Coach Darren Matthews said: "We gave the team line-by-line objectives and some individual areas to work on or certain players."
"This way the results were not the priority: what mattered was that we were achieving these individual objectives, demonstrating progression and that culminated in a great game against the Hawks. The win didn’t come our way, but, we kept it tight for three-quarters of the game.
"I think the way we entered the tournament was fantastic and everybody left with the heads high, eager to train harder to improve so next time we get that first win."
Assistant Coach Rich Copson added: "I cannot fault anyone’s effort over the weekend. However, for us to compete at that division one level we will need to be training regularly on our offensive patterns and significantly improve our defensive skills."
"I think we can come back stronger if the hard work is done between now and January."
You can see the full Swifts squad and coaching staff below, while coaches MVP for the weekend was Joe Brummitt.
Wheelchair Rugby Swifts 24/25
- Taylor Gough (C)
- Jozef Worth
- Lewis Evans
- Hayley Cassin
- Jack Coulson
- Laurence Ball
- Joe Brummitt
- Matt Badman
- Annah Vickery
Coaching
- Darren Matthews
- Rich Copson
