Watch the rugby player with one arm who is the captain of an able-bodied rugby team
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Video Credit: Rumble
A 27-year-old rugby player with one arm is the captain of an able-bodied rugby team.
Chris Young, who was born without his right forearm, is inspiring millions as the one-armed rugby player is the captain of North Yorkshire competitive rugby union team Selby Fours.
Chris from Leeds played both football and rugby when he was a teenager. He says that having a disability sometimes limit your opportunities as people don’t believe in you.
He said: “Not having an arm has limited certain opportunities in life as people don’t want to take the gamble on me, but it has not held me back – it has only changed my path.”
“The challenges I face every day are mainly from people not having belief in me.”
Initially, he thought his team would not accept a player without an arm but both the club and players were very supportive.
The 27-year-old soon proved to them he can dropkick, scrum, ruck and maul like any of them.
He said: “When I first started playing rugby for the club I was really nervous because I didn’t know how everyone would react, but both the club and players have always been so supportive of me.”
“Currently I’m player with room for improvement on my fitness but with some good attributes.”
Chris, who struggled while growing up, says this generation is a lot more inclusive and accepting of disabilities than when he was growing up.
Chris says he feels proud to be a member of the rugby team but being the captain of an able-bodied rugby team feels greater.
He said: “I’m blown away by the accomplishments myself and the team have achieved this season. Every week when we go out and play I’m so proud.”
Previously, he also played for a physical disability Rugby League (PDRL) team and five disabled rugby players from the PDRL are playing with him.
He said: “I really want to encourage clubs and players to just give disabled people a chance. We have a lot to offer and more often than not we work harder because we don’t want to let our disabilities hold us back.”
His current team – Selby Fours, a Saturday team, are currently third in the Northern Merit League.
“The team are doing well this year, better than previous years and I don’t think that having one less arm has impacted the team at all as we all work really hard”, Chris said.
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