Rugby team caught up in New Plymouth collision
attended Saturday’s 3pm crash and Lowry said they had been ‘‘amazing’’.
‘‘The whole front got ripped off. We don’t know about the chassis. The whole left side is a big cave-in.
‘‘I got lifted down in my chair. ‘‘Everyone checked us over. They were a bit worried about head injuries.’’
Driver Neil Cudby, a businessman and father of two, said he was waiting to learn if his modified van had been written off.
He has been in a wheelchair since a rugby accident aged 17 and is turning 50 next week. He said the van was his lifeline.
‘‘It is the only way I can get around, really. I don’t have the function to transfer in and out of a car.’’ Cudby and his passengers had arranged rides home with other competition participants.
He said wheelchair rugby was ‘‘like one big family’’.
Cherie Harris, president of New Zealand Wheelchair Rugby, said it had been a successful weekend and was full of praise for the host city and stadium.
Teams from four regions took part – Auckland, Canterbury, Wellington/waikato, and Bay of Plenty, with an Australia Development side also participating.
Auckland won the final 56-48 over Canterbury.
‘‘Taranaki does not have a wheelchair rugby team,’’ Harris said. ‘‘We are excited to showcase the sport.
‘‘It has been a bit of a mission for us to actually get here but the people on the ground have been phenomenal.’’
She said the game, which is played with a volleyball, was known as ‘‘violent chess’’. ‘‘It is tactical, it is strategic.
‘‘It is the only contact sport for highlevel impairment, globally, and we would love to establish the competition here in Taranaki, even if it is only a few players.
‘‘I would love to look back in three years’ time, two years’ time, and say this was the starting point of the Taranaki wheelchair rugby team that are now at nationals taking on Auckland, Canterbury, Manawatū. That would be amazing.’’