Britain reach European Wheelchair Rugby Championships final and seal Rio 2016 Paralympic berth

Britain secured a Rio 2016 spot by beating Germany in the semi-finals ©Twitter/WREC2015

Britain secured their place in the final of the European Wheelchair Rugby Championships after completing a 53-40 win over Germany in Nastola, Finland, with the result also seeing them earn a Rio 2016 Paralympic berth.

Considered one of the tournament favourites ahead of the Championships, the British team were determined to live up to expectations and the Group A winners started the semi-final impressively against their German opponents.

Having secured an eight-point advantage at half-time, with the scores standing at 28-20, Britain were confident of securing their first appearance in the final since 2011 when they were beaten by Sweden.

They achieved the feat after stretching their advantage in the remaining two quarters and they ended with a 53-40 winning margin and booked one of two places available at the tournament for Rio 2016.

Sweden's pursuit of a third straight title stayed alive after they triumphed in the second semi-final match against Denmark, with the two teams eventually playing out overtime after nothing could separate the nations.

The Danish team showed why they had progressed through Group B with three straight wins as they battled from 27-25 down at half-time to force level the tie at 49-all in the closing seconds of the match.

Neither side were able to make the decisive breakthrough in the first overtime period, with the scores moving onto 53-53 but Sweden eventually broke Danish hearts to seal their place in the final and Rio 2016 by edging 58-57 ahead by the close of the second additional period.

Ireland defeated Belgium in overtime to secure their Division A place ©Twitter/WREC2015

Meanwhile, the day began with the first classification matches, which would decide the fifth to eighth ranked teams, but also carried the importance of the losing two teams being relegated into Division B of the Championships.

Ireland’s clash with Belgium would prove to be the more entertaining affair as nothing separated the teams at the close of the four quarters.

However, Ireland’s Thomas Moylan was able to cross the Belgian line in the final second of the first overtime period to seal a 57-56 victory for his team.

Moylan has proved to be one of the star players of the tournament despite his team’s mixed form, as he currently leads the list of the top goalscorers.

Hosts Finland would also join Belgium in dropping down a division after they were comfortably beaten 58-38 by France, which sees them remain winless but they will now hope to overcome Belgium in tomorrow’s 7th and 8th place play-off.