Canada carries momentum of Quad Nations title into upcoming wheelchair rugby worlds

Canada's national wheelchair rugby team is ready to take on the world.

Riding a wave of momentum after beating Paralympic champion Great Britain in the Quad Nations final last month, Canada enters the Wheelchair Rugby World Championship in Denmark as a serious medal threat.

Ranked sixth internationally, the Canadians have been firing on all cylinders in 2022, showing major growth since a disappointing fifth-place finish at the Tokyo Paralympics last summer. Along with an undefeated run at the Quad Nations tournament in Wales, the team also won silver in June at the Canada Cup in Richmond, B.C.

"It's amazing, the way we've kind of come together. We've learned so much from Tokyo, and I think we've really put into place the steps that we need to be a successful team," said Shayne Smith, who has played on the team since 2017.

Canada's 12-man roster at the world championship includes 11 members from the Tokyo Paralympic squad, with co-captains Trevor Hirschfield and Patrice Dagenais leading the way.

Travis Murao, a 39-year-old team veteran who has competed at four Paralympics, said the team is feeling confident after everything came together in Wales, as they are peaking at the right time.

"We're dialled in and we're right there, so I think the team's pretty excited," Murao said.

"I think we've been kind of building towards the world championship, and we've had some good results, but we haven't quite had the consistency that we showed in Wales, so to end on a high note before the world championship is a huge confidence boost."

The tournament in Vejle features 12 teams, which are split into two groups for the preliminary matches. Canada is competing in Group B against top-ranked Japan, Australia (4), Denmark (7), Brazil (9)