Doncaster rugby league player selected to represent England in physical disability World Cup
Chris Cocks, who hails from Sutton, has been playing a variation of rugby which has been adapted for people with a physical disability
A local rugby league player from Doncaster says he is ‘over the moon’ to have been selected to play for England in this year’s Physical Disability Rugby League World Cup.
Chris Cocks, who hails from Sutton near Askern, has been playing a variation of the sport which has been adapted for people with a physical disability for the last three years, and has been representing Castleford throughout that time.
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He snapped all three ligaments MCL, ACL and LCL around 35-years-ago when he was a teenager and was told that he’d never be able to play the sport again.
Something which Chris defied by joining Adwick two years later, although some time after in 2005, he also suffered another damaging injury to his quadriceps (a group of four large muscles located at the front of the thigh) which has since reduced the mobility and power of movement in his left leg.
Chris, who also plays for Doncaster Toll Bar at Masters Level (Over 35) said: “I first became aware of physical disability rugby when my teammate, who is also a doctor, told me about it and said that I’d qualify.
“I searched it on the internet and then went for some trials with Castleford where I have played ever since.”
Chris explains that despite being older than many of his teammates he’s been called up to represent Yorkshire where he notably won the Mediquip Cup against Lancashire before even making it into the international setup.
“I was not expecting to make the squad as I was relatively late to the party , however I got the zoom call from the coaches and they said that they were so impressed with my hard running and solid tackling that they could not go without me. Hence I’ve been at every camp since and we are now only a matter of weeks from flying out to Australia.”
Chris explains that he’s over the moon to be involved with the England cap and is looking forward to the prospect of facing off against teams like New Zealand and hosts Australia as the team aim to defend their title.
However, alongside his trip down under, Chris explains that he’s also been tasked with trying to get sponsorship. He said: “RFL have put £96,000 into the pot to get the whole squad there and accommodation/ food, drink / transportation etc etc, but twhat hey have asked us is if we can each raise £1,500 so that each one of us has done our part .
“Local businesses can have their name on the shirts and shorts and training wear / leisure wear etc (see pdf attached) and there is a player sponsor offer at £500 which would see their name mentioned everytime that my name is either in squad lists or in the media if I score a try or something like that.”