By Nathan Bragg for World Wheelchair Rugby.
Among the field of 12 excellent wheelchair rugby nations heading to Vejle next month is one debutant. Ninth-ranked Brazil will be competing at their first World Wheelchair Rugby Championships.
Brazil booked their ticket to Denmark with a hard-fought comeback victory at March’s Americas Championship in Medellin against regional rivals and fellow Pool B competitors Colombia. Down 17-12 midway through the first half, Brazil powered their way to a 54-52 win in the bronze medal match behind a strong team effort.
Brazilian Wheelchair Rugby Association (ABRC) President, Paralympian, and competing Class 2.0 athlete José Higino put the win into context.
“It was very important to regain the position of the 3rd best team in the Americas. Currently, we have a very big rivalry with Colombia. It is always a difficult game and for us to defeat them after losing to them in Lima 2019 was very motivating and crucial to get a direct spot in the World Championship.”
Jose Higino
Qualifying for the World Championships was an outstanding achievement and reward for a Brazilian program that’s been working hard to solidify its place on the world stage since hosting the 2016 Paralympics.
Jose Higino
“It is a historic achievement for the sport in Brazil and shows the growth of Brazil in the world of Wheelchair Rugby, it shows that we have evolved a lot and got to a place where we want to stay. It will be the most important competition since our participation in the Rio 2016 Paralympics.”
For casual fans of the sport, the 2016 Paralympics may have been their first or only time seeing Brazil in action. During that exciting week in the summer of 2016, Brazil took on many of the world’s best, putting forth valiant efforts against eventual champions Australia plus Canada, Great Britain, and France.
Jose Higino
“It is very important to have in our squad athletes with experience in big events like Rio 2016 who will be able to use this experience to help the other athletes in the team, especially to reduce the stress and anxiety for our debut in the World Championships.”
Although it may be tempting to point to one or two players as “Ones To Watch,” head coach Rafael Gouveia wants spectators to look at the efforts of the whole team.
“(Watch) the entire team, because whenever an athlete has space to conduct the ball, there is
Rafael Gouveia
always someone who has done the work of stopping a fast opponent.”
With 12 athletes, including five returning players from the 2016 Paralympics, on the plane to Denmark, Gouveia says that his team’s style of play is “adaptable” and will depend on what their opponents do. His squad demonstrated this adaptability at the Americas Championship, where Brazil employed both hi-lo and balanced line-ups and made tactical adjustments as the qualifying campaign progressed.
Goals For The Tournament
Ranked 9th in the world and seeded 5th in their pool entering the tournament, Brazil hopes to pull off an upset or two and make it into the quarterfinals. However, this won’t be an easy task in a strong Pool B that includes the last two World Champions in Japan and Australia, plus perennial contender Canada, host Denmark, and rival Colombia – all teams who finished in the Top 10 at the 2018 World Wheelchair Rugby Championships in Sydney.
“The expectation is to be among the top 8, which would be a great achievement for our team. But we were drawn in a very difficult group, so if Brazil is among the Top 10 we acknowledge that it will be a good result anyway,” says Higino.
The last time a team cracked the Top 8 at their first World Championship was in 2010 when Poland finished 8th in Vancouver. The only team who finished higher at their 1st Worlds (excluding those at the inaugural event in 1995) was Germany, who placed 6th in 1998. Therefore, making the quarterfinals would be an amazing achievement for South Americans if they can shake up the standings in Pool B.
The 2022 World Championships will be a crucial new chapter in the history of Brazilian Wheelchair Rugby as the sport continues to develop and grow in the country.
Brazil’s 2022 World Championship Roster
Gabriel Simplico (N)
Gilson Dias Wirzma Junior (0.5) – Co-Captain
Paolo Amarante (N)
Lucas Junqueira (0.5)
Alex Patrick (N)
Davi Abreu (2.0)
Jose Higino (2.0)
Marcillo Nunes (2.0)
Alexandre Taneguchi (2.5)
Bruno Damaceno (2.5)
Daniel Goncalves (2.5)
Gabriel Feitosa (3.5)
Schedule
Brazil will tip off the 2022 World Wheelchair Rugby Championship against hosts Denmark in the tournament’s opening match on October 10.
ALL TIMES CEST
Day 1 – October 10
17:00 VS Denmark
Day 2- October 11
09:00 VS Australia
17:30 VS Colombia
Day 3 – October 12
14:45 VS Japan
Day 4 – October 13
10:00 VS Canada
Days 5-7 – October 14-16
TBD (Depends On Results)
Learn More
To learn more about the World Wheelchair Rugby Championships, please visit 2022wrwc.com
To learn more about Brazilian Wheelchair Rugby, please visit https://rugbiabrc.org.br/
To learn more about Wheelchair Rugby and World Wheelchair Rugby, please visit
world.wheelchairrugby