Australia has charged into the International Wheelchair Rugby Four Nations semi-finals after convincingly defeating close rivals Canada 60-52 this afternoon’s clash.

Finishing at the top of the ladder, Australia will take on Great Britain in the semi-final tomorrow at 12pm as the competition steps up, with each team vying to take out the gold in the final on Sunday.

But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for Australia, with Canada eager to settle the score after their close loss to the Aussies on day two. 

Aggression and desperation characterised the first quarter as both teams battled to take the lead, with Australia edging out Canada 14-11 at quarter time.

The Australians widened the gap to a five point margin at half time, and continued to block the Canadians’ attempted resurgence with heavy defence in the second half. 

Leading point scorer Ryley Batt and veteran Steve Porter broke through the Canadians powerful line, comfortably closing the game eight points in the lead. 

According to Australian Head Coach Brad Dubberley, today’s win puts Australia in the ideal position to win the tournament. 

“We’re heading into the semi-finals tomorrow without a loss which is a great achievement,” he said. 

“Our guys showed some excellent defence that often changed possession of the ball which did a lot to help us win the game. 

“We’ve set ourselves up as the team to beat in this tournament and we need to build on that dominance to tomorrow to make sure we go into the gold medal match.” 

The semi-finals are scheduled for 12pm and 2pm at the Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre.

Staged by the Australian Paralympic Committee, the tournament at Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre runs until Sunday.