Paralympic Games: guaranteed show at wheelchair rugby
Meeting between Japan and France during the Tokyo Paralympic Games, August 25, 2021. AFP - BEHROUZ MEHRI
Text by: Farid Achache Follow
7 mins
A sport unknown to the general public, wheelchair rugby is nonetheless a demanding discipline.
In Tokyo, despite the closed session, the teams are hard at work and meetings follow one another.
Wheelchair rugby was invented by Canadians in the 1960s for quadriplegics.
Matthieu Thiriet, from the France team, who beat Denmark this Friday, August 27 in the third group match (52-50), enlightens us on his discipline.
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From our special correspondent in Tokyo,
The shocks are violent and noisy.
And in
Tokyo
, without an audience, nothing can mask the impact of the chairs, the screeching on the floor, the referee's whistle.
One could even imagine oneself in a fun fair with bumper cars, where heads can capsize very quickly by dint of going in circles.
You don't need too much sake, this Japanese rice alcohol, to get drunk.
As in rugby, contacts are frequent.
Wheelchair rugby is a violent handisport, to the point that some call it "murder ball".
It is not uncommon to see an athlete on the ground, who is carefully picked up by the staff before returning to fight on a basketball court (28x15 meters).
Rules adapted to quadriplegics
In order not to wobble too easily, you have to learn to control your chair, like a jockey with his horse. Without a doubt, wheelchair rugby, little known in France, shares the shocks and state of mind of traditional rugby. There is even talk of a third half.
“
Normally, I'm not someone very stressed, but here, I must admit that when I woke up I had a lump in my stomach. I said to myself: "it's still the Paralympics
", "says Matthieu Thiriet, member of the France team, who experienced his first Paralympic meeting against Japan, for the first match of the Blues. For its entry into the tournament, the French wheelchair rugby team had only yielded in the last quarter, against the Japanese world champions (51-53). And during the second meeting, the French lost to the Australians (53-51), reigning Paralympic champions.
Armchair rugby, Matthieu Thiriet discovered it after a bad fall in 2011, at the beach, while he was diving.
Having become quadriplegic, he participates in the annual handisport day in Toulouse and gets caught up in the game after a successful test.
At the time, he met the members of the France team who were preparing to leave for the Paralympics in London in 2012. Very quickly, he joined the Stade Toulousain Rugby Handisport.
“
What's great is that all the rules are adapted to our handicap.
It's good to be in a tight-knit family that even laughs at your disability,
”he laughs.
Adding: “
It's a very tactical, strategic sport, you have to learn the placements, and it takes time
.
"
French (g) Matthieu Thiriet.
© French Federation of Handisport
Officially at the Sydney Paralympic Games in 2000
In Tokyo
, the one who had already dreamed of Rio is a full-fledged player in this sport invented in 1976 by Canadians, which officially entered the Paralympic Games in 2000 in Sydney, after having been a demonstration sport in Atlanta in 1996. "
It is one of the rare team sports which is accessible to quadriplegics.
There is also wheelchair basketball, but you have to have a lot of mobility in the hands and strength in the arms to be able to shoot.
It was impossible for me
”, explains the one who considers having had“
his chance
”.
“
I had a great time watching wheelchair rugby.
It's spectacular, it's strategic, we never get bored.
The objective of Paris 2024 is to introduce students to Paralympic sport when we organize an Olympic day
, ”says
Tony Estanguet
, president of the organizing committee for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, who came to
Tokyo
for observation. .
40 seconds to score a try
The goal of the match is for the players to carry the ball beyond the opponent's eight-meter-wide goal line.
A team has only 40 seconds to score a try from taking possession of the ball.
Players can pass or roll the ball in any direction.
They must dribble or pass the ball to another player at least every 10 seconds.
The defending team must try to block the ball carrier.
As with all parasports, athletes must be classified.
Points are awarded to them, from 0.5 for the person most penalized by their handicap, up to 3.5 for the least penalized.
A team cannot line up more than 8 points on the field.
Several combinations of points, and therefore of players, are possible.
Hence the very strategic aspect of wheelchair rugby.
Matthieu Thiriet, who is obliged to three collective training sessions per week, plus bodybuilding and recovery sessions, is very supported by family and friends.
“
After the first game, I had 80 messages on my phone,
” he laughs.
In three years, it is in Paris that he hopes to repeat the experience, this time with full stands, next to his relatives.
Matthieu Thiriet's reaction after France-Denmark
After 2 defeats, the French wheelchair rugby team reacted by dominating Denmark after a close meeting from start to finish (52-50).
In 2016, in Rio, the Blues had not won any group match.
The French still have one classification match to be able to claim fifth place in the Paralympic tournament.
"
It was important to win a game.
This is our third participation in the Paralympic Games and we feel like we have progressed to do even bigger things in the future.
We will give everything to get a fifth place.
It's a great experience, it's something unique to be there.
I want to be on the ground in 2024 in Paris in front of our audience.
We will have to fight to have our place in the team.
I am thinking of all the players who have stayed in France and who are helping us to progress.
Thank you to them
”, declares Matthieu Thiriet, at the microphone of RFI.
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