Part one of our WRL Wheelchair Grand Final preview as we speak to both head coaches…
This Sunday at Llandrindod Wells Sports Centre, South Wales Jets take on Cardiff Blue Dragons in the WRL Wheelchair Rugby League Grand Final (kick-off 1.30pm).
Former Wales head coach Alana Sargent has led Cardiff Blue Dragons to her’s and their first ever Grand Final. Last week, as massive underdogs, they travelled to last year’s Grand Final winners North Wales Crusaders and beat them 36-24 to qualify for Sunday’s showpiece.
Both sides had Welsh internationals in their line-ups, but Cardiff, now self-coined as “the unexpected finalists” were the side who performed on the day, and Sargent, whose son Lee and daughter Libbie were in the side, was delighted.
“We were over the moon with the win last week,” Sargent said.
“This season, our goal was just to complete the season, and complete our fixtures, because we don’t have loads of players to draw on.
“We didn’t expect to get to the Grand Final, but we’re there. and we’re happy that we’re there. We’re just going to go in to do our best, which is what we always say, enjoy it, and just soak it all in.
“We didn’t have much of a pre-season so it’s just making sure that we know what we’re doing when we’re on there.”
South Wales Jets were easy winners over an understrength Cardiff Blue Dragons in the regular season, but Sargent is confident that her side can give a better performance this time around, as she will have players returning.
“The last time we played Jets we were missing three of our key players,” she said. “Unfortunately, we are missing a couple from our squad this Sunday too, but the three of the experienced players are back.
“It’s been quite a good season for us really. Wyatt Jones and Jess Booth joined us from Crusaders, and they’re both very experienced. Jess is in the Wales squad, as are Lee and Libbie, and Tomos Parker has been asked to attend Wales training. That is a massive thing for us because it’s showing that we’ve got that development pathway, which is what Cardiff is all about.
“We’re working quite closely with a lot of different agencies to try and draw more players into the sport and get them on a development pathway as well, because it is one of the most inclusive sports that you could ever be involved in and so the whole ethics of Cardiff Blue Dragons is just to enjoy and do your best.
“I’m over the moon that our youngest player Charlie Puddick will be in the Grand Final squad. He’s played quite a bit this season and the improvement in him is just massive.
“He’s really coming into himself now, which is exciting to see because he’s only coming up 11-years-old, and what’s he going to be like when he reaches 14 to 16 and he can then start attending training camps with the Welsh national team.
“So it’s quite exciting to see the future potentially coming in as well.”
