A SUPERMARKET worker whose parents were told he would never walk or talk has defied the odds to compete in the first Physical Disability Rugby League World Cup.
On Sunday, October 23, Dylan Hughes was among the 15 man team who represented Wales in the first match of the first ever World Cup tournament organised by the Disability Rugby League.
The 24-year-old, who lives in Llanrhaeadr-Ym-Mochnant and works at Morrisons in Welshpool, usually plays for Leeds Rhinos physical disability side, a team regarded as one of the best in the UK.
Dylan was born with right sided hemiplegia cerebral palsy, with his parents Dave and Claire being told that he would never walk or talk.
Speaking on the progress Dylan has made to be playing Rugby for Wales, Claire said: “It’s great to see, both for Dylan personally and for the wider goal of disability representation in sport.
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“The opening matches had such a great atmosphere, with players who have clearly put so much effort into the game.
“It’s been a long, hard road to get here, but it’s been Dylan’s lifelong goal to play rugby on this kind of platform and though achieving it has been a bit of a balancing act for all of us, it’s just something we knew we had to help him get to.”
The opening day of the World Cup, held in Warrington, saw Wales face off against New Zealand, with the Welsh team fighting back after initially falling behind, eventually winning the game 28-26.
The other game of the opening day was played between England and Australia, with England winning 58-6.
The Australian team featured comedian and host of Channel 4’s ‘The Last Leg’, Adam Hills, who has advocated for the growth of the Physical Disability Rugby League in the UK.
When Wales and Australia meet on Friday (October 28), it will be the second time Dylan played a game against the 52-year-old comedian, as Dylan’s Leeds Rhinos played Warrington Wolves in 2018, when Hills was in the opposition's line-up.
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