European Wheelchair Rugby Championship: France beat Great Britain 55-49 in final
- Published
France captain Jonathan Hivernat has competed at two Paralympics
France beat Paralympic champions Great Britain in the final of the European Wheelchair Rugby Championship for the second year in a row.
France, 44-43 winners in 2022, triumphed 55-49 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
"We got beat today; we didn't lose. It was such a close game - a few tiny errors were the difference," said GB's Aaron Phipps.
Denmark beat Germany 53-50 to win bronze earlier on Sunday.
By reaching the final, Paul Shaw's GB side secured a place at the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
"It has been spectacular - best Euros ever. It's been amazing to be a part of it," said Phipps.
"Being here in the home of rugby, having loads of supporters coming down, it has been absolutely huge. To see how far this sport has come is special."
Sebastien Verdin opened the scoring for France before Jamie Stead hit back with GB's first try.
Verdin made his presence known throughout the game, but solid defending by GB in the first quarter resulted in France using three out of their four timeouts.
Phipps was brought on and combined with Stuart Robinson to take the hosts to within one point of France by the end of the first quarter.
A loss of possession by Stead at the start of the second gave France the chance to win a turnover and gain a two-point lead.
But GB fought back to 27-27 at half-time and took the lead in the third quarter as Stead crossed.
France did not trail for long as Verdin won the first of three turnovers in the third quarter.
Poor decision-making left GB with no timeouts to take. Phipps committed a holding foul where France claimed their second turnover, and a rushed pass from Robinson allowed France to open up a 42-39 lead.
Verdin and Jonathan Hivernat, who also represented France in last year's Rugby League World Cup final defeat by England, proved too strong for GB in the final quarter.
A further two turnovers went in favour of France and there was no coming back for GB.
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