Matchups decided as 2022 Wheelchair Rugby World Championship draw is held in Denmark

The draw for the 2022 Wheelchair Rugby World Championship was held on Thursday, 7 July in the town centre of Vejle, Denmark, which will host the highly anticipated follow-up to the Tokyo 2020 tournament from 10-16 October.

After the first 10 teams were drawn into pools A and B, it was up to Denmark head coach Jason Regier to select a destination for his Danish side.

Denmark hopes to win a first World Championship medal on home soil this fall and opted to contend with Pool B teams Japan, Australia, Canada, Brazil and Colombia in the early stages of the tournament.  

Head coach Regier explained his reasoning afterwards. 

"You just go what gives us the best chance to get into the quarterfinals. It’s pick your poison. The top six, eight teams are so strong and can all get into the semifinals. I wish it was scientific and easy, but it was a really tough decision. It’ll be pretty amazing to play the South American teams though, even if it is a bit of a risk of the unknown," he said.  

Danish player Kaare Momme Nielsen is also anticipating a tough battle in Pool B: “It’s a very tough pool and I understand the headache for our head coach, who had to make the decision. But I’m confident we have a good opportunity to advance from the group stage and chase our dream of a medal at home.

"I’m really looking forward to playing Australia again, as we really play them well. It’s also going to be very fun to play against Brazil and Colombia for the first time," the athlete added.

In Pool A, Paralympic champions Great Britain and fellow European teams France, Germany and Switzerland are joined by USA and New Zealand. 

Now that the draw is completed, the match schedule will be finalised over the course of the coming weeks. One thing has already been decided, however. Denmark will be on the court for the opening tip-off on October 10 at 17:00 CET. 

You can rewatch the live draw here.