At the inaugural Deaf World Rugby Championships in Auckland in 2002, the final saw the New Zealand Deaf Blacks face off against Wales. Controversy arose when New Zealand accused the Welsh team of not adhering to the tournament’s requirements. The New Zealand captain Awhi Phillips was outspoken, claiming Wales had an unfair advantage by fielding players with lower dB (decibel) levels.
The First Deaf Rugby World Final: Fair Game or Unfair Advantage?
2002 •
- Deaf Sports
At the inaugural Deaf World Rugby Championships in Auckland in 2002, the final saw the New Zealand Deaf Blacks face off against Wales. Controversy arose when New Zealand accused the Welsh team of not adhering to the tournament’s requirements. The New Zealand captain Awhi Phillips was outspoken, claiming Wales had an unfair advantage by fielding players with lower dB (decibel) levels.
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Taonga source:
Kevin Pivac
Reference number:
SignDNA – Deaf National Archive New Zealand, KP-ST02-SPO22
Copyright status:
This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Note:
This item has been compressed and/or edited.
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