A trip to New Zealand for the Canadian wheelchair rugby team
Canada's wheelchair rugby team is on the other side of the world, in New Zealand, for one last chance to secure a ticket to the upcoming Paralympic tournament. A long turn that players would have done well without, but it may come in handy in the end.
The Canadians missed the opportunity to confirm their place in Paris during the recent Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile. They lost in the Grand Final, with only one place at stake; A setback for the Americans that the players still find difficult to comprehend.
“I've played for a long time, and I've had a lot of painful losses, but this loss hurts,” said Travis Morao, a pillar of the national program for more than a decade. Especially since we were consistent during the tournament and played our worst game at the worst time, in the final.
Canada defeated the United States, the world standard in wheelchair rugby, in the preliminary round before losing 57-51 in the gold medal game.
There are still encouraging signs for Patrice Dagenais, another veteran player on the team. The USA has a large population, a club league, and a high level of competition, and we can see that despite the disadvantages, we can compete with them.
Canada, once a major figure in wheelchair rugby, could theoretically be excluded from the Paralympics for the first time in its history.
But this scenario seems unlikely.
Patrice Dagenais
Photo: Dave Holland/Canadian Paralympic Committee/Dave Holland
The process of selecting the Maple Leaf among the top three teams must conclude during a last-chance tournament held on the outskirts of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand.
The odds appear to be in favor of Canada, fifth in the world, which will face the lowest-ranked countries in its group: New Zealand (8), Brazil (11) and the Netherlands (15). There is only one country registered for this tournament that has a better position on the world stage, Australia (second place), which could face Canada in the final.
Momentum towards Paris.”,text”:”We have to look at this qualification as an opportunity to play more matches, to do more training,” launched double Paralympic medalist Travis Mourao. This is an opportunity to create momentum towards Paris.”}}”>“We have to look at this qualification as an opportunity to play more matches, to do more training,” said Travis Mourao, a two-time Paralympic medalist. This is an opportunity to create Paid to Paris.
The opportunity also to return to victory.
Better mental preparation
The Canadian game plan is on point, Dagenais and Mourao assert. The strategies and game choices work well, and everyone knows their role in the choice. But there remains a gap that must be corrected, and it lies outside the field.
Dagenais pointed out that in Santiago, there was one match, of all the matches we played, in which we did not perform well, but it was the most important match. We have to think about that, mentally we can be more solid during important matches. I would say to improve our mental skills.
With us trainerWe tell ourselves that we should not change our style of play when we get to the important match, when we face pressure. The mood is different in the warm-up. In the front locker room, the guys are a lot quieter, which is unusual. Maybe we need to maintain our usual routine.
So the goal is not just to qualify for Paris, but to do so through the front door, with a great performance that will take them to the top step of the podium. And the opportunity to turn this road to France into something positive.
“The first step was to achieve better consistency in our performance, game after game, and I think we succeeded in achieving that,” said Mourão. Now, it's about maintaining that level as we get closer to the big games, and we're ready to take that next step, and New Zealand will be able to help us with that.
The adventure in a far away land will begin on March 20 with a match against Brazil. The team will then face the Netherlands (March 21), then the host team, New Zealand (March 22), to conclude the preliminary stage.