Quad nations wheelchair rugby returns to Cardiff

Local TV

We visit the sport Wales national centre where the quad nations wheelchair rugby competition is ongoing. Four teams, hosts team GB, Japan, the USA and France are all competing in preparation for the Paralympics next year. The sport is brutal, the athletes have come from across the world, and Stuart Robinson tells us how important it is for people.

Transcript

00:00 It's a really good tournament. I think we're pretty privileged to have a tournament on

00:06 home soil and against three out of the top five or six in the world. It's a great opportunity

00:13 for us to test ourselves and also for them to test themselves as well. We've got a squad

00:19 that's trying to prepare themselves for the Paralympics over in Paris in August/September.

00:24 For us it's about giving them guys some minutes and giving them some opportunities to play

00:27 against some top class opposition. It's a great tournament.

00:31 The teams competing at the Quad Nations are genuinely some of the best in the world, so

00:35 spectators are really getting a treat seeing them travel so far to come to Cardiff to play.

00:40 France have won the European Championships twice in a row now, Japan are former world

00:44 champions and the USA are four-time world champions, so the quality is clear to see.

00:49 It's pretty tough in a Paralympic year to come up against opposition international teams

00:55 that want to play and get some minutes, so to have France, USA and Japan come over, it's

01:00 great for us to get some good minutes in against these teams. Obviously we've got another tournament

01:06 in June I think over in Canada, so it'll be another good chance then, but having it on

01:11 home soil it's great to bring the tournament and some world class rugby to Wales.

01:17 Cardiff has become a home for wheelchair rugby in the UK. We've seen a number of competitions

01:21 come to the city already, like the Quad Nations two years ago, but also the European Championships

01:25 at the Principality Stadium last year. Stuart says it's a real privilege to call Cardiff

01:29 home and he hopes the sport will grow in the city.

01:32 It really has, yeah. The last Quad Nations we had here at the same venue, last year we

01:38 had the European Championships at the Principality, both amazing venues, obviously the Principality

01:44 are iconic, but for us to keep coming here and keep coming back here, it's great for

01:49 us to have a bit of a home base to know where we're playing, to use the same layout to bring

01:55 world class rugby to Wales, it's a privilege, yeah.

01:57 [WHISTLE BLOWS]

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