European Wheelchair Rugby Championships: GB needed to 'take a hard look' after Worlds
- Published
Walker (right) and fellow co-captain Chris Ryan celebrate Tokyo gold-medal success in 2021
Great Britain wheelchair rugby co-captain Gavin Walker says the team have had to do some soul-searching over the past year.
The team won a historic gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021.
But they lost their European title to France before finishing seventh at the World Championships in October.
"We had to take a hard look at ourselves after the Worlds, but since then we have pulled together," Walker told BBC Sport.
"There have been a few changes in the squad, we have a new assistant coach and what has come out of that is a real work ethic and intensity that perhaps hadn't been there in the year before the Worlds."
The team are now focused on this week's European Championships which take place at Cardiff's Principality Stadium from Wednesday to Saturday, where regaining their title and qualifying for the Paris Paralympics are the priorities.
The top two sides at the tournament will secure their places at the 2024 Games and although there will be a repechage event next year, Walker and his team-mates want to avoid that.
They are in the same pool as Israel, Switzerland and Denmark with the other pool made up of France, Germany, Netherlands and the Czech Republic.
"The Worlds was disappointing for many reasons," said Walker. "We went in there without Stuart Robinson, who was a late withdrawal and is one of our main players. Although that is going to be difficult, as a team we didn't pull together.
"However, what we have in place now are more robust team line-ups that can play against the top European and world teams. For us to progress as a team, we need to be dominating every game.
"We are in a great position to go and dominate again in Europe and regain our title and then work towards Paris and a title defence but we can't get ahead of ourselves or underestimate any team at this tournament because you can easily lose games very quickly. The standard in Europe is strong with the French doing well and Denmark also strong.
Walker has won three European titles as well as a silver and bronze
"We have plans in place in case things don't go to plan, which can happen. But there is a different energy in the team and everyone is pulling together in that one direction."
This week's event will break new ground with previous major tournaments having been staged in traditional sports halls. With the stadium roof closed, the playing court will be in the centre of the pitch with temporary seating around it.
The arrangement is one which excites Walker, who was a member of the fire service but broke his neck in 2010 after slipping on wet decking and took up wheelchair rugby a year later.
"It could be something that works well and it might see other nations taking up the same idea," he said.
"We have previously tried things with our Quad Nations tournament to make it more of an event with smoke machines and pyrotechnics but we are all looking forward to seeing how the playing area looks.
"Will our calls and noise get lost in a big environment? We don't know.
"It is fantastic to have this tournament on home soil and as well as family and friends, it would be great to have a huge crowd supporting us.
"A lot of our time is spent showing people what we can do as players. It is an eye-opener for a lot of people.
"People don't expect people to be in chairs moving around the court so quickly but then we get aggressive and start hitting opponents with intent. It can be shocking to a lot of people but it is also what draws people into the sport."
GB squad: Stuart Robinson, Daniel Kellett (West Coast WRC), Aaron Phipps, David Ross, Jonathan Coggan (London WRC), Jamie Stead, Gavin Walker, Kieran Flynn, Nick Cummins, Jack Smith (Leicester Tigers WRC), Coral Batey (North East Bulls WRC).
'The shorter your sleep, the shorter your life': Joe Wicks learns why sleep is fundamental to our health
How many footballing milestones do you know? Test yourself in this fun quiz
