DORSET Destroyers Wheelchair Rugby Club has finished top in their Conference League, winning eight out of eight matches.

The Poole-based club, who play at Rossmore Leisure Centre, took part in the final round of matches at Stoke Mandeville Stadium at the weekend, playing a new version of wheelchair rugby called wheelchair rugby 5s.

The competition is based on a fusion of the Invictus Games and the Paralympic Games.

As Conference winners, the Destroyers will now head to Division 1 seeking to claim the first ever title in the new sport. Nick Coombs, club chairman, said: "These are going to be the hardest matches ever.

"We've got to work even harder as everyone will want a piece of us."

And captain Craig Beasley said: "The icing on the cake was our win against local rivals the Solent Sharks in the eighth and final game.

"We had a 100 per cent track record and we wanted to keep it that way. We remained professional and clinical. But we still have a way to go to be the Division 1 champions."

The club is playing several friendlies in Poole over the next two months to keep match fit ready for the finals at Stoke Mandeville on Sunday, September 2. Matches are free to watch on Sunday, July 1, and Sunday, July 22, at Rossmore Leisure Centre.