Penrith Pumas travelled to Kettering for the third and final round of the Allied Mobility Wheelchair Rugby 5’s Championship writes Ron Richardson. Following the previous two rounds the Pumas had won one round and were runners up in the second, which meant they were standing in second position at the start of the conclusive round of matches.
Basically, Pumas had to win every one of their games and hope the team in pole position would slip up at some point during the tournament. Pumas fielded a strong squad who knew that their skill levels, stamina and determination would allow them to push Berkshire Banshees all the way.
The first game saw Pumas up against a strong Crawley Jets side, who beat the Pumas in the previous round in a closely fought contest. Again, play ebbed and flowed and the scoring was reciprocated by both teams in this well matched contest, but it was the Pumas who dug in towards the end and came out victors by 24pts – 20pts…a good start to the day!
The next games against Coventry Stampede and The Ospreys showed exactly what the hours of training back in Penrith have meant. The play by the Pumas was almost to textbook specifications where passing, interceptions, ‘truck and trailer’ techniques, marking and ‘picking’ were excellently delivered. ‘Truck and Trailer’ is where a player is supported by another as they move up the court, blocking off any attempts from the tackling team. ‘Picking’ involves a player from one team locking their chair into an opponent’s stopping them being involved in play. Throughout the games between Stampede and then against Ospreys, these skills were highly prevalent by the Pumas squad of players – Jeremy Norman, Matthew Smedley and Sarah Burrows all played exceptionally well, which allowed the Pumas to progress successfully beating Stampede 25pts – 7pts and Ospreys 29pts – 6pts.
These three early victories set the final game up, against The Banshees, to be the competitions conclusive contest. With everything hanging in the balance the teams exchanged scoring throughout the first half with Olly Wightman, Josh Tudge and Josh Williams doing plenty of the scoring, whilst Ian Wightman and Richard Metcalfe were prominent in defence with some big hits being made. These aspects of the game alongside the directive play by player coach Byron Durkin White ensured that the Pumas took control of the game and shut the Banshees out to come out victors by 33pts – 16pts, ensuring that the Pumas would be The Championship champions and gain promotion to the GBWR Premiership next season. Along with the winning of the Championship Trophy there was further success for the Pumas with Sarah Burrows being awarded ‘Best in Category’ prize.
Club coach Byron Durkin White praised the players that took part in the tournaments but also passed on praise to all the other club members, who without them coming to club nights and doing the training regimes, the club wouldn’t be able to function as it does. He also mentioned and thanked the ongoing support from the club’s non-players for their involvement throughout the season – Megan Fearnley (Team Manager), Ron Richardson, Nicola Smedley Stew Freen, Kirsteen Hughes and Charlotte Metcalfe.
Pumas return to training nights at Penrith Leisure Centre 6pm-9pm, every Tuesday.
Penrith Pumas celebrate their Allied Mobility Wheelchair Rugby 5’s Championship success.