The Wheelanders won the silver medal in division 2 at the Wheelchair Rugby Championships in Porirua recently.
Longtime player Jason Beattie said the win meant a lot.
"That’s our biggest achievement so far, so we just got to keep the ball rolling and keep the momentum going."
There were 12 people in the team, including amputees and people with degenerative disorders.
A point system ensured a balanced competition on the court.
Players were classified from 0.5 (lowest) to 3.5 functional ability and a team was allowed a maximum of 8 points on the court at any one time.
Mr Beattie had been in a wheelchair for 35 years after being a passenger in a car crash.
He had played a variety of wheelchair sports, including tennis, basketball and lawn bowls.
He began playing rugby about 10 years ago, but the team got disbanded.
The team was brought back together about five years ago and he rejoined two years ago.
"Going from a participation medal to a silver medal is huge."
He said there was a lot more intensity in the team and they were willing to be a lot more "mongrel" on the court.
Tackles were made by smashing into each other’s wheelchairs.
"It’s just crash and bang, basically. She’s very full-on and very punching."
The team trained about twice a week and exercised on their own as well.
"Anyone out there that doesn’t know wheelchair rugby exists, come down and compete."
