Hosts Britain announce 12-man squad for BT World Wheelchair Rugby Challenge

Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby have announced a 12-man team for the tournament ©GBWR

Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby (GBWR) have announced a 12-man squad for the BT World Wheelchair Rugby Challenge, which is due to take place at the Copper Box Arena in London from October 12 to 16.

The competition at the venue, located in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, will be the British team's first since they secured qualification for the Rio 2016 Paralympics by winning the European Championships title last month in Finland.

Chris Ryan has been selected as the captain for the tournament and is joined in the squad list by Alan Ash, Coral Batey, Ayaz Bhuta, Jonathan Coggan, Nicholas Cummins and Bulbul Hussain.

Paul McDerby, Jim Roberts, Mandip Sehmi, Jamie Stead and vice-captain Gavin Walker complete the British squad which will be keen to secure further success when they face Paralympic champions Australia, Japan and France in Group B.

North American rivals Canada and the United States are joined in Group A by New Zealand and South Africa, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the semi-final stage of the tournament.

With the 2015 Rugby World Cup also taking place throughout England, Chief Executive of GBWR David Pond hopes that spectators will be inspired to watch the eight-team tournament while he also expressed his desire for the event to be repeated in four years’ time.

“It is really exciting to bring together the best wheelchair rugby athletes in the world to play in a tournament alongside the Rugby World Cup,” he said.

“We hope this tournament will be repeated in Tokyo alongside the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

“Congratulations to the British athletes selected, they can look forward to a fantastic week playing the best in the world.”

In a bid to further inspire the general public ahead of the tournament, GBWR and their sponsors BT have unveiled a new film which showcases some of the action that spectators will be able to look forward to.

Roberts and Bhuta, who were announced as the latest Paralympic-level athletes to become BT Ambassadors in July, were among those to feature.

“We are delighted to be playing our part in staging the BT World Wheelchair Rugby Challenge,” said Zaid Al-Qassab, chief brand officer.

“This new, innovative event will see the BT GB team take on many of the best countries in the world and will provide a wonderful showcase for disability rugby.

“If you are in London and enjoying the Rugby World Cup, you might want to come down to the Copper Box next week and see the world’s best wheelchair rugby players in action.”