For England rugby league hero James Simpson, adversity has simply given way to opportunity.
Back in 2009, while serving with the 1st Battalion Yorkshire Regiment in Afghanistan, he lost his legs in an IED explosion. It finished his career in the army, but after spending three years becoming accustomed to using prosthetic legs, it paved the way for another special journey.
Simpson, an ambassador for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, is currently flourishing for club and country. And in an interview with Mirror Sport , he explained where the passion he has for the game - as a player and a fan - derives from.
“It (the sport) genuinely changed my life," he said, with undeniable conviction. "I was a couple of months out the army, I had no direction and didn’t know what I wanted to do. I got into this game to play for fun and fitness and to meet people - and I went on to play for England. Then I went on to play in a World Cup in 2017. Now I’ve been asked to be an ambassador for this World Cup.
“The game put me through all these different directions and opportunities I never thought I’d get. That's why I get so passionate about it. What it’s doing for me it can do for so many more people."
When Simpson started out of course, things were very different. Whether he was representing his beloved Leeds Rhinos or England, matches were tucked away in sports halls with interested outsiders having to stream games on their phones via Facebook. But come November 3, Simpson and co will open up their World Cup bid against Australia at the Copper Box Arena in London, which boasts a capacity of 6,000.
Matches will be shown by the BBC and Simpson lauded the current global exposure, and thinks the tournament will only serve to boost that notion: “We've gone from the shadows," he said. "We’re getting the opportunity to play in these massive arenas live on TV and it’s all getting pushed. Us and the women are getting pushed the same as the men.
“It’s all a level playing field and we feel like we are part of this massive England team incorporating the women and the men. The World Cup is like one huge event that everyone feels part of equally.
"We’ve got eight teams competing and some of those teams don’t get to play regular international games. So it’s an opportunity for them to come over and see how we play, how we do things, and then go back to their respective countries and be like ‘how do we get better at this?’ It’s exposing those other nations to a different way of thinking."
Simpson also believes youngsters and fellow disability athletes will be 'blown away' by the skill on show over the next few weeks, but along with his burning desire to help grow the sport, he and his teammates have a job to do. England prevailed in the first ever wheelchair World Cup in 2008, with France taking the 2013 and 2017 events.
But unarguably, the 2021 will be the biggest yet, a factor Simpson is clearly ready to embrace: “I’m feeling really good. It’s only the fourth World Cup we’ve had in rugby league but it’s never been on this scale," he crowed.
"It’s going to be huge. We’re (England) going into it really confident that we’re going to make the final and win it. The whole World Cup, the preparation, the support we’ve had, and being the home nation gets you a lot of backing. We couldn’t have asked for anymore and this is the time we are going to go out - and we’re going to win it.”
James Simpson is a Reign Total Body Fuel athlete and you can learn more about his life, and rugby, journey in this 'Ready to Reign' mini-documentary.
