Latest news with #wheelchairrugby
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I'm the world's smallest football coach and most of the kids are taller than me.. the hate is never-ending - here's why I love it
Despite standing at just 3ft 7in tall, Connor Sanderson insists he is just like any other PE teacher. The 21-year-old from Salisbury was born with sacral agenesis - a rare congenital condition which means he has no femurs and an abnormal pelvis. Doctors told Connor's parents he was unlikely to survive for long and would certainly never be able to walk. But the Arsenal fan refuses to let his disability define him and not only walks but plays wheelchair rugby, coaches football, and teaches PE. Connor reckons he is 'pretty much the shortest football coach in the world' - with most of the children he teaches towering far above him. He has always hoped to be an inspiration for young people and to prove 'if you've got your mindset, you can do anything'. And last year, his dream came true when a video of him coaching went viral on TikTok. The clip racked up more than 220,000 likes but also drew many hateful comments, with some viewers poking fun at Connor's height. But the Arsenal fan refuses to let his disability define him and not only walks but plays wheelchair rugby, coaches football and teaches PE However, the ambitious 21-year-old says the cruel remarks are 'English banter' and is just happy his message is reaching so many people. He told MailOnline: 'Their (viewer's) engagement is the most important thing, even if it is negative. 'I just shrug it off. There's no need to worry about it, it that just gives me more publicity.' The coach added: 'It's like English banter. There's no point being down from it, so I go along with the jokes.' But, although Connor prides himself on his sense of humor, he admits that sometimes people 'take it too far'. He said: 'When they try and sneakily video me without permission - and they're really bad at sneakily doing it - just because I'm different and small. I get frustrated.' Connor started coaching football at his school when he was 16 and has always loved the sport. But, he never thought he would be able to turn his passion into a career until his boss saw him in action and offered him a job. Connor says his condition has not affected his ability to coach - or presented any problems he can't solve. 'There's there's no barrier you cannot climb over. For example, I can't skip because I've got no knees but as long as I put my mind to it I can still coach it. 'They say online, "well, you can't coach if you've not played and if you've got no legs or no knees". 'But I can because I've got my words and if you've got words, you can teach anything.' Connor also said that although children often laugh and stare at him the first time he teaches them, they soon look past his differences and just see him as their coach. 'It takes about two, two sessions for them to understand my condition and then I'm their favorite PE teacher,' he said. 'They (students) definitely just see me as their coach. And they just let just get on with me and just I'm just I try and keep my lessons engaging,' Connor added. The football fanatic thinks he developed his unwavering determination early on in his life, after having the odds stacked against him since birth. 'When I was born, I was told I was never going to walk. 'If I was told I was never going to walk and then all of a sudden I can walk. 'That just shows that if you put your mind to anything, you just give it a go you can do it.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wheelchair warrior Evans finds new place in rugby
Wales rugby league international Brogan Evans thought her dreams had come true when she signed for Women's Super League side Wigan Warriors 18 months ago. But sport, as it often does, struck the cruellest of blows when the forward suffered a career-threatening injury just a few games into the season. After coming through surgery to reconstruct her knee, further complications emerged in her spine and Evans admits it is "highly unlikely" she will ever return to the running game. "I was crushed, I can't express what a massive part of my life rugby was," the 29-year-old said. "I was in hospital all over the new year [2025] and I can't express how lost I felt, then I saw a poster to give wheelchair rugby a go." After just a couple of training sessions, Evans was invited into the Wales camp and is now set to make her international rugby league wheelchair debut in Saturday's Celtic Cup. The annual competition sees Wales take on reigning champions Ireland and Scotland at Cardiff Metropolitan University (11:00 BST). Evans will actually make a bit of history as she will become the first player to win a senior international cap in more than one major rugby league discipline. "It's all happened so fast, it's been a bit of a whirlwind," she said. "I know rugby, the game in essence is the same, what I lack is chair control. I have been training so hard ahead of Celtic, hiring sports halls two or three times a week in prep. I don't want to make a fool of myself or let my team-mates down." But Wales head coach Alan Caron has no qualms in including Evans in his squad. "Brogan's work-rate in the build-up to this tournament has been second to none. She's been putting in extra sessions to improve her chair skills and she scored a well-worked try for Salford last weekend," Caron said. "Her ball skills are already there of course, and the fact she won multiple awards in the women's game a couple of years ago just proves what she can accomplish. I know she'll grip this opportunity with both hands." Evans said it was an emotional transition from running to wheelchair rugby and admits to shedding a few tears in her first session with Wales. "As fun as it was, there is a real possibility that one day I won't be able to just stand up from the wheelchair after a game, and that was daunting and terrifying," she said. "I was convinced my life would be over but, through this, I have met the most incredible people. "One of my favourite Welsh team-mates is paralysed and his life is incredible. He is the most abled and least disabled person I have ever met. His life gives me hope about my future. "I'm actually okay about the whole thing now, whether I end up in a chair permanently or whether I don't, there is a place for me. A new rugby family." While Evans' initial dream of competing at the 2026 Rugby League World Cup may be over, she still hopes to play at a major tournament, and even one day compete at the Paralympics Games "in one sport or another". Evans is part of Wales' 10-player mixed squad and she will not be the only one to break records on Saturday. Jodie Boyd-Ward will become the sport's most capped player when she leads Wales out at Archers Arena. The 32-year-old is currently on 44 international appearances, level with Welshman Harry Jones. "It truly is an honour to be asked to captain Wales for the Celtic Cup, especially as it's an opportunity to lead the squad out and look to reclaim the trophy," Boyd-Ward said. "Last year, I knew after an amazing tour to the US, that I needed to take some time out after not taking a break for the whole of my wheelchair rugby league career. "Now I'm back and feeling better than ever, I'm looking forward to getting stuck in with the team and also seeing how both Scotland and Ireland have continued their development, as I know we have at Wales." Wales' World Cup captain from 2022, Stuart Williams, is named as vice-captain. The 40-year-old, who is Wales' record international try scorer with 66, returns to the side after missing last year's Wales matches. Wales Celtic Cup squad: Lee Sargent (Cardiff Blue Dragons/Hereford Harriers), Jodie Boyd-Ward (Leeds Rhinos), Jess Booth, Jonathan Gill, Jakub Wasieczko, Stuart Williams (all North Wales Crusaders), Brogan Evans (North Wales Crusaders/Salford Red Devils), Alex Powell (Torfaen Tigers/Hereford Harriers), Scott Trigg-Turner, Mark Williams (both Torfaen Tigers/Wigan Warriors).
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Think you can do better?' The player who turned referee
Wheelchair rugby league player Adam Rigby has got used to being a trailblazer since taking up the sport as a the two-time World Cup winner will create more history on Saturday when he becomes the first person to referee a senior international from a will achieve that honour when he takes charge of the match between Scotland and Wales at the three-team Celtic Cup tournament in Cardiff, which also features the 32-year-old told BBC Sport that his route into refereeing opened up by accident."I was at a competition over in Hull and was challenging a decision that had been made in a game I was watching," he said."One of the lead referees overheard me and said: 'If you think you can do any better, why don't you give it a go?'"It stuck with me and the following day I signed up to do the wheelchair officiating course."I had already refereed some friendly games at my club Wigan Warriors, so the interest was there. This was just the push I needed and it came at the right time for me."Rigby has been a pioneer of the wheelchair game, taking up the sport in 2006 and helping England win the inaugural 2008 World Cup in Australia and again on home territory in 2022. He also won the 2023 Grand Final with retired from England duty earlier this month but will still play in the Wheelchair Super League when the new season starts in says his playing experience has helped him as a referee."It has given me the insight into the game that not everyone has," he said."I understand the rhythm of the game, the way the momentum can flip, the tactics and probably the little 'dark arts' that players used to try and gain an advantage."That experience helps massively, especially when making decisions under pressure."Refereeing has taught me to be a better communicator, how to manage situations and personalities out on court, and how to keep control and calm but deliver your message in a firm way."It has also made me reflect more on how I play the game - and might have calmed me down a bit. I'm sure some referees will hear that and say: 'It's about time!'" Rigby, who was born with the hereditary condition familial spastic diplegia and has been a wheelchair user since his teens, has also had to learn about on-court positioning and how it differs for officials in a chair compared to those well as refereeing Saturday's opening match, he will be part of the in-goal team for the other two games on the day, in which Ireland take on first Scotland and then is keen to send out a message that there is a place for wheelchair users in every aspect of the sport."I'm excited to give back to the game in a whole new way and hopefully I'm going to inspire some others to take up the whistle as well," he admitted."It's about showing there are opportunities on and off the court and finding the right one for you."Over the two decades I've been involved, rugby league has given me so much - structure, friendships, pride in pulling the shirts on and some of the best memories that you can really ask for. "To me, it is more than just a sport and it means the world to me."
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
England wheelchair RL's Ashes tour set for autumn
England's two-Test wheelchair rugby league Ashes series in Australia has been set for October and November. The world champions will face the Wheelaroos, fourth in the global rankings, on 30 October and 2 November, with both matches on the Gold Coast. They will warm up with two matches against state sides - New South Wales in Sydney on 24 October and Queensland on the Sunshine Coast on 27 October. It means England now have a confirmed schedule for a four-match tour that was initially announced - without dates - in December. This will be the England wheelchair team's first trip to Australia since 2019, when they beat their hosts 84-28 in Sydney and 58-20 in Wollongong to win a two-Test series. They last met Australia at London's Copper Box in November 2022, winning 38-8 in their opening match at the World Cup, which England went on to win. "We are excited to have confirmation of an Ashes Tour at the end of the year," said Martin Coyd, England wheelchair rugby league's general manager. "It will be a significant event in its own right, as playing Australia on their own territory is always a major challenge, and one that our England players will relish." England played three matches in 2024, beating world number two side France 66-33 in the first in Wigan in October. They then travelled to France in November, defeating Spain 58-28 before losing 32-28 to their hosts. England beaten by France in wheelchair international Heggie inspires England to victory against Spain England thump France in wheelchair international
BBC News
18-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
England wheelchair RL's Ashes tour set for autumn
England's two-Test wheelchair rugby league Ashes series in Australia has been set for October and world champions will face the Wheelaroos, fourth in the global rankings, on 30 October and 2 November, with both matches on the Gold will warm up with two matches against state sides - New South Wales in Sydney on 24 October and Queensland on the Sunshine Coast on 27 means England now have a confirmed schedule for a four-match tour that was initially announced, external - without dates - in will be the England wheelchair team's first trip to Australia since 2019, when they beat their hosts 84-28 in Sydney and 58-20 in Wollongong to win a two-Test last met Australia at London's Copper Box in November 2022, winning 38-8 in their opening match at the World Cup, which England went on to win."We are excited to have confirmation of an Ashes Tour at the end of the year," said Martin Coyd, England wheelchair rugby league's general manager."It will be a significant event in its own right, as playing Australia on their own territory is always a major challenge, and one that our England players will relish."England played three matches in 2024, beating world number two side France 66-33 in the first in Wigan in October. They then travelled to France in November, defeating Spain 58-28 before losing 32-28 to their hosts.
