Northampton Saints supporters have been urged to come on and cheer the Club’s Wheelchair Rugby team during a unique ‘first’ on home soil next month.
The final round of the Great Britain WR5s Premiership takes place on Sunday 13 July at Arena Sports in Kettering.
Saints Wheelchair Rugby enter the finale third in the standings after previous rounds in Plymouth and most recently in Aylesbury – where they picked up wins against Help for Heroes (22-19) and Solent Sharks (16-15), but lost ties with Leicester Tigers (9-22) and Northeast Barbarians (13-22).
While the development team has had opportunities to perform in Northamptonshire, this will be the first time that Saints’ WR5s side will play competitively in the county.
“The opportunity to show the level of competition within the Premiership, being one of the top five teams in Wheelchair Rugby 5s in the UK, and do that in our local community doesn’t come around very often,” said Higgins.
“It is the first time we have had that chance to showcase what we can do within our local community in the seven or eight years we have been running as a Club.”
Jamie Higgins, Saints Wheelchair Rugby Head Coach
“You will see a group of people who sometimes get written off because they have a disability, playing top-flight sport. You are going to witness speed in what is a fast game, with hard hits and players toppling out of chairs.
“It’s also the deciding weekend, so the games will carry more importance than normal. Having our supporter base there could turn the tide and hopefully Saints can go on and achieve something special.”
Saints Wheelchair Rugby pulls in players from not only Northamptonshire, but from as far afield as from Cambridge, Norfolk and Lincoln, and Higgins believes first-timers to spectate the sport are set for a surprise if they come along on Sunday 13 July.
“It is free to attend so I’d really encourage people to come along, it would mean a lot to me, the players and wheelchair rugby as a whole,” added Higgins.
“It is going to be eye-opening for people who haven’t seen Wheelchair Rugby, most people may have only seen the discipline that is in the Paralympics. WR5s can be just that little bit faster because some of those players are slightly more able-bodied.”
