The Tour aims to bring together wheelchair and able-bodied rugby players in a single touring party for a round-the-world tour next year. The two squads will play fixtures on all five continents (at Haslemere, Los Angeles, Sydney, Singapore and Cape Town) supporting and encouraging each other at their respective fixtures as part of the club’s ‘sport for all’ development programme. This has already seen the establishing of a new Wheelchair Rugby Club at Haslemere to cater for existing and potential players in the southern counties.

The Development Unit is the brainchild of Bob O’Shea, captain of the GB wheelchair rugby team at the Sydney paralympics, Paul Davies, GB Team Manager, and Jeremy Moody, GB Team Coach. “Though we have achieved a great deal in wheelchair rugby at Olympic level at Atlanta and Sydney, these young men and women represent the future of the game and the Association, through its Development Unit, wants to encourage new talent to come through,” said Bob.

Speaking about Haslemere’s ambitious project, RFU President Roy Manock reported:
“The RFU wholeheartedly supports the World Friendship Tour and congratulates Haslemere Junior Rugby Club and the Great Britain Wheelchair Rugby Association on this unique achievement. The RFU Council recently voted unanimously to grant Associate Member status of the Union to the GB Wheelchair Association. This tour, which underlines current youth development work, can only further benefit what is already a rapidly expanding Paralympic sport. I hope both squads have a marvellous time and wish them the very best of luck.”

Haslemere’s associate Premiership Club NEC Harlequins’ Chief Executive Mark Evans commented, “We take great pleasure in supporting Haslemere Junior RFC and their World Friendship Tour. Over the last three years Haslemere and Harlequins have enjoyed a productive relationship during which time Haslemere have proved to be not only hugely successful, but an innovative organisation, committed to developing a lifelong interest in both rugby and healthy lifestyles in all junior members. They are a model for all clubs who genuinely believe in developing strong youth development programmes rooted in their local community.”

The overall cost of the World Friendship Tour is being raised through corporate sponsorship and fund-raising activities of both able-bodied and wheelchair players and their families.

The Tour’s main sponsor is TV sports production company Input Video Facilities whose camera crew will accompany the tour party to produce a ‘fly-on-the-wall’ documentary record of the tour for later broadcast. Lining up alongside Input Video are five “continent” sponsors comprising Ernst & Young (Europe), Hogg Robinson (Australia), Standard Chartered (Asia) Old Mutual (Africa) and American Rugby Outfitters (America). Wheelchair rugby sponsors are Unwin Safety Systems and IT sponsors Softwright.

Wheelchair rugby is currently the fastest growing wheelchair sport. An intense physical game for quadraplegic athletes, it was originally based on a variety of sports including rugby, volleyball, basketball and hockey. It was first called ‘murderball’ due to the aggressive nature of the game.