Wrexham sportsman finds new passion in wheelchair rugby

Harry Jones, 27, of Wrexham, was left heartbroken after being advised by doctors to give up the conventional form of the sport because of the health risks linked to his condition.

The keen sportsman, who was unable to play the sport he loved, said he felt his world had come "crashing down".

The club trains every Friday evening at Deeside Leisure Centre and draws players from a wide area (Image: Mandy Jones)

However, he found a new sporting home by joining the North Wales Crusaders Wheelchair Rugby League and Disability Sports Association.

The club trains every Friday evening at Deeside Leisure Centre and draws players from a wide area including Wrexham, Flintshire, Chester and the Wirral.

Harry said: "I was told playing the sport was too dangerous for me because of the risk of head contact.

"My whole world came crashing down when I was told I couldn’t play running rugby league anymore.

"It was the one thing I liked the most.

"It allowed me to get my inner feelings and aggression out."

However, his interest in sport was reborn after he took up wheelchair rugby league, and has enjoyed great success, having represented Wales at two rugby league wheelchair world cups.

He said he and his dad Stephen were invited to a wheelchair rugby league taster session in 2013.

He said: "A few short weeks later I made my club debut.

"In the game, there is definitely no quarter given, it can be aggressive, quite violent sometimes.

"There is lots of controlled aggression.

"It’s amazing.

"When I started playing wheelchair rugby league, I got my love for rugby back again."

Harry said representing Wales in two world cups was a huge honour and a fantastic experience.

He played in the 2017 World Cup in France and then again in the 2022 World Cup which took place in the UK.

Harry represented Wales in two world cups (Image: Mandy Jones)

Harry’s dad Stephen is deeply involved in the region’s wheelchair rugby league set-up.

Stephen, of Wrexham, first played and then became a top coach, eventually becoming the coach of the Wales rugby league wheelchair team.

In 2022 he led Wales to the semi-finals of the sport’s world cup.

Stephen, 57, who’s also the association chair and coach, suffers from several illnesses including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), angina, myoclonic epilepsy with ragged red fibres (MERFF) and a genetic muscular degenerative condition.

He said: "Players join for a variety of reasons.

"We have got some who have come in the past who are there for a bit of friendship, others have come because it gets them out of the house.

"It gets them to realise they are not on their own anymore.

"Others have come because they want to improve their fitness while others want to see how far they can go in the sport, including to international level.

"We have had players who have done that, reached an international standard.

"We don’t see ourselves as a club anymore, we see ourselves as a family."

The club has been awarded a £1,000 grant from a Community Fund Initiative established by Go North Wales tourism group and holiday homes specialists holidaycottages.co.uk.