By . Simon Tomlinson . and David Jones . Letting out a mighty roar after scoring a goal, this was Britain’s blue-haired wheelchair rugby player David Anthony in action last night. A capacity crowd of 10,000 cheered on Anthony and the rest of the team as they took on reigning champions United States in the fast and furious sport once known as ‘murderball’. The crowd ensured an electric atmosphere for the eagerly awaited tournament launch of a sport that can feature ferocious clashes between players. War cry: Britain's David Anthony (left) celebrates after scoring past Chuck Aoki (right) of the United States . No holds barred: Will Groulx of the USA is up-ended during the wheelchair rugby match against Great Britain at the Basketball Arena . Violent collisions saw players go . flying, prompting the commentator to shout: ‘What a hit!’ Regular stops . in play allowed a team of helpers to sprint from the touchline and right . upended chairs, caused by tough tackles. The huge hits, met with gasps . and groans from the crowd, could be heard high up in the packed stadium, . and left stricken players prone on the floor. There were also regular . pauses for chairs to undergo a mid-court ‘pit stop’ as damaged wheels . were replaced. The GB team put on a brave display but . eventually lost 56-44 in their pool match. Fast and furious: Aaron Phipps of Great Britain with the ball during Paralympics GB's opening pool match . It's called 'murderball' for a reason: GB's Myles Pearson ends up flat on his back in a typically aggressive encounter against the world number one side . Captain Steve Brown’s team . are widely viewed as strong medal contenders, and they led 13-11 after a . fierce opening quarter at the Basketball Arena. Despite a 16-goal display from star . performer Aaron Phipps and an 11-goal contribution by Anthony, however, . they could not hold off the challenge of the Paralympic champions. France are next up tonight, followed by Japan tomorrow, with successive . victories certain to secure semi-final status. Brown said: ‘The States are number one . in the world, so it was never going to be easy. 'We had the bounce of . the ball sometimes, and other times it went against us. That crowd was . something else. 'You have to draw from the crowd and find that extra . percentage with your performance.’ Crash, bang, wallop: Will Groulx goes flying after being knocked over by Britain's Aaron Phipps (left). Heavy contacts are actively encouraged in the sport . Eyes on the ball: Britain's David Anthony (left) and Ross Morrison (right) close in on Nick Springer of the U.S. Doing it for the girls: Britain's only female player, Kylie Grimes, proves murderball is not just a man's world as she tackles a U.S. opponent . Not for the faint-hearted: USA's Will Groulx is picked up after falling during the Group A match at the Basketball Arena in London . Kylie Grimes, 24, the only female . player in Britain’s ranks – and one of only two in the tournament – . added: ‘We came out really strong.’ Tickets . for the London 2012 Games sold out, with the ParalympicsGB chef de . mission Craig Hunter describing it as a 'tough, fast game played with no . fear and plenty of clashes'. So many clashes, in fact, that there is a team of welders on standby at the sidelines, ready to repair players' wheelchairs. The 11-strong ParalympicsGB squad is a . young team, with only three players having taken part in both Beijing . and Athens and are hoping for their first Paralympics medal. Before today's game, Captain Steve Brown said the team . strongly wants to win a medal, in the strategic game he describes as . being similar to chess. But he stressed: 'There is no added pressure. I . am not thinking about the history.' He added that it was a 'buzz' to play in front of sell-out crowds. After today's opener, Britain play . France tomorrow evening, then Japan on Friday. Both semi-finals are on . Saturday, with the final one of the Games' last events next Sunday . afternoon. The game was invented in the 1970s by athletes with quadriplegia wanting an alternative sport to wheelchair basketball, but it was not until 1989 that the first international tournament was held. Great Britain was among the three teams taking part in Toronto, Canada. Can barely watch: The Earl and an aghast Countess of Wessex get into the action at the match . Agony to ecstasy: The countess celebrates as Paralympics GB score in what was a close but ultimately disappointing result for the home side . Tipping point: GB's Steve Brown desperately tries to stay upright in the heat of battle . Just out of reach: The British team gave it their all but came up short against the US . Crunching: Great Britain's Jonathan Coggan and Steve Brown crash into US opponent Will Groulx . As if being the only female member of the British wheelchair rugby team was not enough to make Kylie Grimes, above, stand out, she has also had a Union Jack shaved into the side of her bright red hair. The . 24-year-old put in an impressive performance when the ParalympicsGB . team faced the USA, ranked number one in the world, in the opening match . of the competition this afternoon. She is only the second woman to play with the British team at Paralympic level. Grimes, . who lives in Farnham, Surrey, took up the sport two years ago after an . accident which left her paralysed from the chest down. She . lost a £6million damages claim at the High Court last year over the . injury, which happened when she hit her head on the bottom of a swimming . pool as a teenager in 2006. Grimes . knew that she 'wanted to continue playing sport and as soon as she saw . her first game of wheelchair rugby, she says she knew it was the sport . for her', according to the British Paralympic Association. It first appeared at a Paralympic . Games in 1996 as a demonstration sport, making the Sydney . Games the . first time it was given full medal status. Wheelchair rugby is played indoors on a . basketball court, with mixed teams of four players who use a white . ball, similar to a volleyball. To . score a goal, an athlete has to pass the opposing team's goal line . while in firm control of the ball, with two wheels of their chair . crossing the line. The ball has to be passed or dribbled . every 10 seconds and is passed to the other side if that does not . happen. There are four eight-minute quarters to each game. While . there is contact between the chairs, penalties are incurred if physical . contact is made with an opponent or if an opponent's chair is hit . behind the rear wheel. Athletes are classified with a points system, on a scale from 0.5 to 3.5. Their team of four athletes on court . at any one time cannot exceed a total of 8.0 points in total unless . there is a woman in the team, in which case they are allowed an extra . 0.5 points. Those with the . highest level of impairment are classified as 0.5 players and along with . the 1.0 players, can not easily pick up or pass the ball, making them . more suited to being blockers. Those . with a rating of 3.0 or 3.5 have a high degree of strength and . stability as well as higher functionality in their upper limbs. Currently, the sport is dominated by the US and Canadian teams. Melee: ParalympicsGB player is hurled out of his chair after a shuddering collision . Damaged: Contact between chairs is not only allowed, it is positively encouraged . Bidding for the podium: The 11-strong ParalympicsGB squad is a young team, with only three players having taken part in both Beijing and Athens, and are hoping for their first Paralympics medal . High-flier: Britain's Ross Morrison throws the ball over Seth McBride . Murderball was given its name by the devil-may-care quadriplegics who invented the game during the late Seventies. It was also the title of a 2005 documentary starring U.S. player Mark Zurpan, about teams competing at the previous year’s Paralympics in Athens. The sport - otherwise known as wheelchair rugby - was invented by a group of Canadians who met in rehab and whose disabilities were so severe that they couldn’t participate in wheelchair basketball. Brutal: Murderball was popularised in a 2005 documentary starring U.S. player Mark Zurpan (right) about the sport during the Athens Games a year earlier . Searching for an outlet for their machismo, they found slamming into one another like wheel-propelled warriors exhilaratingly therapeutic. Sparks visibly fly as aluminium wheels are deliberately jammed by nasty devices (called ‘spikes’) attached to the front of some chairs. Attackers attempt to force the ball over the goal-line with the aid of battering rams, with the barging is so ferocious that players are frequently thrown from their seats, sometimes breaking fingers and arms. The sport soon became popular across the border in the U.S., and in the Eighties reached Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Britain. It has rapidly evolved, at the elite level, into a strategic game likened to fast-moving human chess. Though the British HQ is at Twickenham and the aim is to get the ball — round not oval — across a goal-line, it bears little resemblance to rugby.
Home nation outscored world number one in first quarter of pool match .
But couldn't cope with U.S. side's passing and movement to lose 56-44 .
Young team are hoping to land Great Britain's first Paralympics medal .
By . Simon Tomlinson . and David Jones . Letting out a mighty roar after scoring a goal, this was Britain’s blue-haired wheelchair rugby player David Anthony in action last night. A capacity crowd of 10,000 cheered on Anthony and the rest of the team as they took on reigning champions United States in the fast and furious sport once known as ‘murderball’. The crowd ensured an electric atmosphere for the eagerly awaited tournament launch of a sport that can feature ferocious clashes between players. War cry: Britain's David Anthony (left) celebrates after scoring past Chuck Aoki (right) of the United States . No holds barred: Will Groulx of the USA is up-ended during the wheelchair rugby match against Great Britain at the Basketball Arena . Violent collisions saw players go . flying, prompting the commentator to shout: ‘What a hit!’ Regular stops . in play allowed a team of helpers to sprint from the touchline and right . upended chairs, caused by tough tackles. The huge hits, met with gasps . and groans from the crowd, could be heard high up in the packed stadium, . and left stricken players prone on the floor. There were also regular . pauses for chairs to undergo a mid-court ‘pit stop’ as damaged wheels . were replaced. The GB team put on a brave display but . eventually lost 56-44 in their pool match. Fast and furious: Aaron Phipps of Great Britain with the ball during Paralympics GB's opening pool match . It's called 'murderball' for a reason: GB's Myles Pearson ends up flat on his back in a typically aggressive encounter against the world number one side . Captain Steve Brown’s team . are widely viewed as strong medal contenders, and they led 13-11 after a . fierce opening quarter at the Basketball Arena. Despite a 16-goal display from star . performer Aaron Phipps and an 11-goal contribution by Anthony, however, . they could not hold off the challenge of the Paralympic champions. France are next up tonight, followed by Japan tomorrow, with successive . victories certain to secure semi-final status. Brown said: ‘The States are number one . in the world, so it was never going to be easy. 'We had the bounce of . the ball sometimes, and other times it went against us. That crowd was . something else. 'You have to draw from the crowd and find that extra . percentage with your performance.’ Crash, bang, wallop: Will Groulx goes flying after being knocked over by Britain's Aaron Phipps (left). Heavy contacts are actively encouraged in the sport . Eyes on the ball: Britain's David Anthony (left) and Ross Morrison (right) close in on Nick Springer of the U.S. Doing it for the girls: Britain's only female player, Kylie Grimes, proves murderball is not just a man's world as she tackles a U.S. opponent . Not for the faint-hearted: USA's Will Groulx is picked up after falling during the Group A match at the Basketball Arena in London . Kylie Grimes, 24, the only female . player in Britain’s ranks – and one of only two in the tournament – . added: ‘We came out really strong.’ Tickets . for the London 2012 Games sold out, with the ParalympicsGB chef de . mission Craig Hunter describing it as a 'tough, fast game played with no . fear and plenty of clashes'. So many clashes, in fact, that there is a team of welders on standby at the sidelines, ready to repair players' wheelchairs. The 11-strong ParalympicsGB squad is a . young team, with only three players having taken part in both Beijing . and Athens and are hoping for their first Paralympics medal. Before today's game, Captain Steve Brown said the team . strongly wants to win a medal, in the strategic game he describes as . being similar to chess. But he stressed: 'There is no added pressure. I . am not thinking about the history.' He added that it was a 'buzz' to play in front of sell-out crowds. After today's opener, Britain play . France tomorrow evening, then Japan on Friday. Both semi-finals are on . Saturday, with the final one of the Games' last events next Sunday . afternoon. The game was invented in the 1970s by athletes with quadriplegia wanting an alternative sport to wheelchair basketball, but it was not until 1989 that the first international tournament was held. Great Britain was among the three teams taking part in Toronto, Canada. Can barely watch: The Earl and an aghast Countess of Wessex get into the action at the match . Agony to ecstasy: The countess celebrates as Paralympics GB score in what was a close but ultimately disappointing result for the home side . Tipping point: GB's Steve Brown desperately tries to stay upright in the heat of battle . Just out of reach: The British team gave it their all but came up short against the US . Crunching: Great Britain's Jonathan Coggan and Steve Brown crash into US opponent Will Groulx . As if being the only female member of the British wheelchair rugby team was not enough to make Kylie Grimes, above, stand out, she has also had a Union Jack shaved into the side of her bright red hair. The . 24-year-old put in an impressive performance when the ParalympicsGB . team faced the USA, ranked number one in the world, in the opening match . of the competition this afternoon. She is only the second woman to play with the British team at Paralympic level. Grimes, . who lives in Farnham, Surrey, took up the sport two years ago after an . accident which left her paralysed from the chest down. She . lost a £6million damages claim at the High Court last year over the . injury, which happened when she hit her head on the bottom of a swimming . pool as a teenager in 2006. Grimes . knew that she 'wanted to continue playing sport and as soon as she saw . her first game of wheelchair rugby, she says she knew it was the sport . for her', according to the British Paralympic Association. It first appeared at a Paralympic . Games in 1996 as a demonstration sport, making the Sydney . Games the . first time it was given full medal status. Wheelchair rugby is played indoors on a . basketball court, with mixed teams of four players who use a white . ball, similar to a volleyball. To . score a goal, an athlete has to pass the opposing team's goal line . while in firm control of the ball, with two wheels of their chair . crossing the line. The ball has to be passed or dribbled . every 10 seconds and is passed to the other side if that does not . happen. There are four eight-minute quarters to each game. While . there is contact between the chairs, penalties are incurred if physical . contact is made with an opponent or if an opponent's chair is hit . behind the rear wheel. Athletes are classified with a points system, on a scale from 0.5 to 3.5. Their team of four athletes on court . at any one time cannot exceed a total of 8.0 points in total unless . there is a woman in the team, in which case they are allowed an extra . 0.5 points. Those with the . highest level of impairment are classified as 0.5 players and along with . the 1.0 players, can not easily pick up or pass the ball, making them . more suited to being blockers. Those . with a rating of 3.0 or 3.5 have a high degree of strength and . stability as well as higher functionality in their upper limbs. Currently, the sport is dominated by the US and Canadian teams. Melee: ParalympicsGB player is hurled out of his chair after a shuddering collision . Damaged: Contact between chairs is not only allowed, it is positively encouraged . Bidding for the podium: The 11-strong ParalympicsGB squad is a young team, with only three players having taken part in both Beijing and Athens, and are hoping for their first Paralympics medal . High-flier: Britain's Ross Morrison throws the ball over Seth McBride . Murderball was given its name by the devil-may-care quadriplegics who invented the game during the late Seventies. It was also the title of a 2005 documentary starring U.S. player Mark Zurpan, about teams competing at the previous year’s Paralympics in Athens. The sport - otherwise known as wheelchair rugby - was invented by a group of Canadians who met in rehab and whose disabilities were so severe that they couldn’t participate in wheelchair basketball. Brutal: Murderball was popularised in a 2005 documentary starring U.S. player Mark Zurpan (right) about the sport during the Athens Games a year earlier . Searching for an outlet for their machismo, they found slamming into one another like wheel-propelled warriors exhilaratingly therapeutic. Sparks visibly fly as aluminium wheels are deliberately jammed by nasty devices (called ‘spikes’) attached to the front of some chairs. Attackers attempt to force the ball over the goal-line with the aid of battering rams, with the barging is so ferocious that players are frequently thrown from their seats, sometimes breaking fingers and arms. The sport soon became popular across the border in the U.S., and in the Eighties reached Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Britain. It has rapidly evolved, at the elite level, into a strategic game likened to fast-moving human chess. Though the British HQ is at Twickenham and the aim is to get the ball — round not oval — across a goal-line, it bears little resemblance to rugby.
. eventually lost 56-44 in their pool match. Fast and are hoping for their first Paralympics medal. Great Britain's Jonathan Coggan and Steve Brown ranked number one in the world, in the opening