• Invictus Games gold medal event to be preceded by the Jaguar Land Rover Exhibition Wheelchair Rugby Match, featuring a stellar line up including His Royal Highness Prince Harry and Zara Tindall.
• Rugby World Cup winners Jonny Wilkinson and Sir Clive Woodward to go head‑to‑head as coaches of the two teams.
• Teams, named "Invictus" and "Endeavour" will feature sports stars and wounded, injured and sick Service personnel.
• Match takes place at the Copper Box Arena on Friday 12th September and is part of the Invictus Games, the international sporting event for wounded warriors, presented by Jaguar Land Rover.

Friday 12 August 2014 ‑ Members of the Royal Family and sporting greats were put through their paces in a training session to ready them for the Jaguar Land Rover Exhibition Wheelchair Rugby Match this evening at 7.00pm. The match will precede the wheelchair rugby gold medal contest at the Invictus Games, the international sporting event for wounded warriors.

Rugby legend Jonny Wilkinson and his former manager Sir Clive Woodward will go head‑to head for the first time as managers for their teams which included Prince Harry and cousin, Zara Tindall, alongside sporting greats such as her husband Mike Tindall, Dame Kelly Holmes, Denise Lewis and Jason Robinson.

The stars will be joined by Invictus competitors Ryan McIntoch (USA), Ben Steele (Great Britain), Dennis Dencker (Australia), Marco Iannuzi (Italy), Kim Holm (Denmark) and Bill Blaikie (New Zealand).

Taking to wheelchairs in a testing training match, the celebrities learned the rules of the adapted sport and quickly discovered how physically demanding it is on the wounded, injured and sick Service personnel who have battled to make this evening's finals.

Zara Tindall said: "The training session has been really hard work, but it was good fun. I think we've got a really good team and I'm looking forward to going up against Mike. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be allowed to hang onto the back of his chair like I've been practising.

"The Invictus Games have been fantastic and I think Harry has done an amazing job, having the idea and bringing it over (to the UK). It all seems to be going amazingly well and it's fantastic to see the power of sport and what it's able to do for these guys and girls."

Sir Clive Woodward, manager of the Endeavour team, said: "I'm hugely honoured to have been asked to lead the team and as soon as I got the letter I cleared my diary. Wheelchair rugby is such a great sport. It really levels the playing field, although you've got to have a lot of skill for it.

"I come from a Service family myself: my dad was in the RAF and events like the Invictus Games are hugely important as a way of saying thank you and a way of appreciating what they do for the country."

Retired Lt Col Bill Blaikie, from New Zealand, said: "To be picked to come and play with these celebrities is fantastic. I'll give it our best and, as Sir Clive says, give them some knocks.

"It's a fantastic arena and the atmosphere is awesome, the crowd gets behind you and lifts you. Jason Robinson and I already had a tussle ‑ I think we'll carry on out there."

The exhibition match, presented by Jaguar Land Rover, will take place during the Invictus Games Wheelchair Rugby competition at the Copper Box Arena. It will be featured on tonight's BBC's One Show at 7.00pm, with highlights later broadcast as part of BBC2's Invictus Games coverage.

The Invictus Games are being organised with the support and backing of The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry and the Ministry of Defence. It will see more than 400 wounded, injured and sick Servicemen and women, from 13 nations, competing at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the Lee Valley Athletics Centre, thanks to the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, the London Legacy Development Corporation, Lee Valley Regional Park Authority DCMS and Sport England.

Tickets for the Invictus Games, presented by Jaguar Land Rover, cost £12.85 per person, per session and are still on sale at www.invictusgames.org

‑ ENDS ‑

NOTES TO EDITORS

About the Invictus Games
Launched by Prince Harry earlier this year, the Invictus Games will use the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect of those who serve their country. The nine sports at the Invictus Games are: Archery, Athletics, Wheelchair Basketball, Road Cycling, Powerlifting, Indoor Rowing, Wheelchair Rugby, Swimming and Sitting Volleyball. There will also be a Jaguar Land Rover Driving Challenge. Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will host events in the London Aquatics Centre, Copper Box Arena, Lee Valley VeloPark & Here East, with Athletics at Lee Valley Athletics Centre, thanks to the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, the London Legacy Development Corporation and the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. Teams have been invited from Afghanistan, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Georgia, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, UK & USA. Jaguar Land Rover is the Presenting Partner of the Invictus Games. BT, Fisher House, Ottobock, PwC and YESSS are Official Supporters. The Invictus Games are being organised with the support and backing of The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry and the Ministry of Defence.

About Jaguar Land Rover
Jaguar Land Rover is the UK's largest premium automotive manufacturing business, built around two iconic British car brands. All its vehicles are engineered and designed in Britain.  While it has ambitious plans for global growth, the heart of the business remains in the UK, with billions of pounds invested in state‑of‑the‑art production, research and development facilities.   In 2013, Jaguar Land Rover sold 425,006 vehicles ‑ up 19% from the previous year ‑ in more than 170 countries.   The company employs 30,000 people globally.

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