Stephen McGuire yesterday staged a dramatic comeback to seal a semi-final berth in the individual boccia competition

The three-time Scottish champion took to the hall just minutes after brother Peter had lost to the defending champion in a tie-break and after the world No.1, Nigel Murray, had also bowed out.

After going 3-0 down after two of the four ends, McGuire bounced back, levelling in the third set with a 3-0 win before sealing a 5-2 victory with his very last throw.

"I'm delighted, it went ball for ball at the very end there and it was a case of digging deep," said McGuire. "I didn't feel right in the first two ends, I just wasn't on it, but I got it right in the second two. "

Peter, 30, drew 3-3 with the world No.1 Jose Dirceu Pinto of Brazil, but the 2008 gold medallist edged through to the semis in the tie-break while Scott McGowan lost his last-16 match with South Korea's Jeong Ho-Won.

Wheelchair rugby doesn't bare much resemblance to rugby. It's played in quarters not halves, the ball is round, not oval, it can be thrown forward rather than just backward and, finally, there are goals not tries. It's also much more violent.

The rulebook also boasts perhaps the most inaccurate statute in sport – no physical contact is allowed, which makes you wonder why it's dubbed murderball.

Great Britain's team boasts 11 players, including Glasgow's Mike Kerr, and a mechanic, who sits pitch side with his toolkit fixing chairs that are slammed into each other like bumper cars, producing bone-jarring hits that send a shudder through those watching let alone playing.

Most coaches on a rugby bench have nothing more than a magic sponge and more sticky tape than you'd find in the Blue Peter studio. Iain McClellan's tools of the trade include a blowtorch.

It's little surprise wheelchair rugby's high-octane blend of spills, thrills, collisions and calamity is making the sport, invented by a group of Canadian quadriplegic athletes seeking an alternative to wheelchair basketball, one of the hits of the Games.

Imagine two 200-pound sledgehammers colliding at 20mph and you see why sparks fly and fans flock.

Aaron Phipps is the enforcer of the British team, he has no fingers, one thumb, his legs have amputated below the knees and his no-nonsense playing style is making him a crowd favourite. He likens himself to Lawrence Dallaglio.

"There is nothing better than smashing someone out of their chair," said Phipps, after GB rebounded last night to beat France 57-50 after losing their opening fixture to defending champions USA.

"It's full contact, although the chair absorbs most of the impact. If you don't want to get hurt or don't like it tough, don't play. My aim is to smash a pathway through our rivals so that my team-mates can follow me through."