England's deaf rugby sevens teams left Tokyo with World Championship success while Wales' men and women missed out on the top prize.
England's deaf rugby sevens squads delivered on the global stage in Tokyo, taking home success at the World Deaf Rugby Sevens Championship and signing off the tournament in style.
For Wales, it was a tougher story. Both the men's and women's sides came into the event with hopes of silverware but lost out, leaving England to celebrate while the Welsh squads head home with lessons to take forward.
Sevens is built on pace, space and split-second decisions, and deaf rugby adds another layer of communication. Teams lean heavily on visual cues, hand signals and sharp awareness of one another on the pitch. Squads that gel quickly under those demands tend to stand out, and England's group did exactly that in Japan.
The championship also shows how far deaf sport has come, with national teams traveling across the world to compete in a fast, physical format. England's Tokyo triumph is a strong result for the program and a reminder of the talent in the deaf rugby community.
