Canada’s second-half comeback attempt came up short on Monday evening at the Quaycenter against Poland, 43-45, despite outscoring their opponents by three points in the second half. The loss for the Canadians puts them at 0-2 overall, and leaves them with much to do in their remaining three preliminary round matches of the 2018 Wheelchair Rugby World Championship.

1^st Quarter – CAN 7 POL 10

Canada, who appeared to be caught off-guard by Poland’s intensity, laboured in the opening exchanges and fell behind by three tries early on in the first quarter of the match.

Hoping to change the pattern of the play, head coach Patrick Côté quickly made a pair of substitutions, bringing on Branden Troutman and Eric Rodrigues for Cody Caldwell and Travis Murao. Their impact was immediate, as Canada’s play improved. However, with little time remaining in the quarter, Canada were unable to claw back any of their early deficit.

2^nd Quarter – CAN 16 POL 21

Points were traded back-and-forth at the beginning of the 2^nd quarter, with very little separating the two teams. However, a misplaced pass in the third minute by the Canadians gave their opponents an opportunity to extend their lead even further. Ruthlessly, Poland took it.

Near the end of the quarter, Canada managed to tighten up on defence and force Poland to their first turnover of the match. This time around, it would not lead to a try for Team Canada, though, it would provide the team with some confidence going into halftime.

3^rd Quarter – CAN 30 POL 33

Undoubtably, Canada’s best quarter of the match came in the third, with the team managing to dictate the flow of play and close the gap on their opponents.

A key moment for Canada came in the third minute, when good pressure from Travis Murao forced Poland into misplacing a pass. Cody Caldwell, who recovered the ball, then led the charge up the court and scored, reducing Poland’s lead to 4. It was a turn of events that spurred Team Canada forward and allowed them to get within three points, going into the final quarter.

4^th Quarter – CAN 43 POL 45

Canada took their momentum into the fourth quarter and started off the better side, managing to narrow the gap to 2 points. But the comeback was simply not to be, as Poland managed to hold their nerve and see out the remainder of the match.

HIGHLIGHTS

NEXT MATCH: Canada v. Poland (August 6 at 21:00 EST // August 6 at 18:00 PST)

Canada (0-2) will be looking for their first win of the 2018 Wheelchair Rugby World Championship when they take on Great Britain (1-1) in their third Pool B game on Tuesday morning at the Quaycenter.

Canada last played Great Britain at Rio 2016 Summer Paralympics, winning an absolute nail biter in double overtime, 50-49.

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Key Facts:  Great Britain (1-1)

World Championship: 4^th Place (1995, 2006), 5^th Place (2002, 2014), 6^th Place (2010), 7^th Place (1998)
Paralympics: 4^th Place (1996, 2004, 2008), 5^th Place (2012, 2016), 6^th Place (2000)
World Ranking: 5th
2018 WRWC Qualification: 1^st Place – IWRF 2017 European Championship
Head Coach: Paul Shaw
Squad: Stuart Robinson (3.5), Aaron Phipps (3.5), Jim Roberts (3.0), Jamie Stead (2.5), Ayaz Bhuta (2.5), Gavin Walker (2.0), Chris Ryan (2.0), Nicholas Cummins (1.5), Myles Pearson (1.5), Ryan Cowling (1.0), Muhammad Islam (0.5), Jonathan Coggan (0.5)

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Canada’s match against Great Britain will be played on Monday, August 6 2018 at 21:00 EST // Monday, August 6 2018 at 18:00 PST. The match will be available to be watched live on Wheelchair Rugby Canada’s Facebook page HERE.

All matches will also be available live on cbcsports.ca and via the CBC Sports app will be livestreamed on cbcsports.ca and via the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices, as well as cbc.ca/watch and via the CBC TV App.