Rugby League World Cup: England's Lewis King on his journey to wheelchair tournament

King played football and also competed in motocross when he was younger

At the last Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup in France five years ago, Lewis King was a spectator. A year into his journey in the sport, he shared the disappointment as England lost to the hosts in the decider.

Fast forward to 2022 and the 37-year-old from Dartford is getting ready to make his World Cup debut alongside his London Roosters team-mate Joe Coyd, who he watched compete at the last tournament and who has played a big role in getting him to this place.

In 2009, King was diagnosed with a blood clot on his spine and, after a 21-hour emergency operation, was left paralysed and had to come to terms with a life that was changed forever.

Sport was part of his rehabilitation, but although he dabbled with wheelchair basketball, finding wheelchair rugby league in 2016 gave him a new lease of life.

"I loved it from the start and being around other disabled people helped," he told BBC Sport. "When you are in a chair it is a level playing field and to compete highly and aggressively is a great feeling.

"When I went to the last World Cup, the players were so skilful and that was the level I knew I had to be at to be there next time around.

"I have had so much support from coaches and other players. I am so proud and grateful when I think back on the journey I have gone through and it is an amazing feeling."

King was selected in the England training squad in 2018 and made his debut the following year when he was also named the Super League player of the year.

Since then, the winger has become a mainstay of the international team and will be one of England's three World Cup debutants as they chase a first World Cup title since 2008.

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Key to his development has been Coyd, 25, who comes from a family steeped in wheelchair rugby league and who will be playing in his third World Cup as England's most capped player, having started playing the wheelchair game aged 10.

His older brother Tom is the England coach while father Martin has been the driving force behind the sport's growth for many years and is also the team manager.

"Lewis has always been a great athlete and I knew he had something about him from the start," says Coyd. "The progress he has made is remarkable for someone who has never picked up a rugby ball before.

"When he was on the fringes of international selection, I would throw him the hardest passes I could at every club session for around a year. In the first couple of weeks he couldn't catch a cold but he has worked so hard and is also one of the most humble and nicest guys I have met."

The sport, which describes itself as "rugby league in wheelchairs", follows a lot of the principles of the running game and also prides itself on its inclusivity, enabling disabled players like King and non-disabled players like Coyd to play on the same team at all levels while male and female players can also line up together.

"Playing the game has helped me to learn more about disability," says Coyd, who also plays as a loose forward in the running game with the Medway Dragons.

"Things that I take for granted like going to make a cup of tea or going for a swim is different for others on the team and it would never have crossed my mind how their disability affects them and how they do things differently.

"I have never had any backlash for playing the game as a non-disabled player, but there is often curiosity. Sometimes people who don't know will look at me and try to work out what my disability is and they are surprised when they find out I am not disabled but do play wheelchair rugby league.

"I had some of the rugby league skills from playing the running game but because I was so young when I started playing the wheelchair game, I picked up the chair skills reasonably quickly.

"But it does take time because you have to catch the ball, look what is going on, decide what you need to do and then move - all at speed - and it is hard to master it all together."

Coyd is one of the most experienced players in the England set-up

For the first time, the wheelchair competition is part of the Rugby League World Cup main event alongside the men's and women's tournaments. England, who are ranked second in the world, start their campaign against Australia on Thursday, followed by games against Spain and Ireland.

Rivals France, the top team in the world, are in the other pool alongside Wales, Scotland and the United States but both King and Coyd agree the year's delay to the tournament has worked in their favour.

"We probably weren't where we wanted to be this time last year, but the extra 12 months mean we are in a much better place as individuals and as a team," says King.

"It has definitely helped me. I feel fitter, faster and stronger and we've had so much support to get us in the best possible position."

"We are here to win," adds Coyd. "We are ambassadors for the sport and want to showcase how great it is- but I've lost two World Cup finals with England and that's not fun."

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