Rugby World Cup: James Simpson confident England wheelchair will win
England and Leeds Rhino wheelchair rugby star James Simpson said that England is "in a better place" this year than they would have been had the World Cup been held last year.
The tournament, which got under way on 3 November, was delayed a year because of the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent withdrawals of Australia and New Zealand.
With an extra year to train and prepare for the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup, the Army veteran is positive about England's chances.
Speaking exclusively to BFBS Sport ahead of the tournament, he said: "Initially it was quite frustrating, the players worked so hard for years not just a couple of months, years.
"We all took it quite hard, but we adapted really fast and we kind of thought to ourselves, this is a year where we can get more training, get more time together and get more skill.
"So, I think we are a lot better off for it than we were, I think a lot of the other players agree that we are in a better place now going into the World Cup than we would have been if we have gone last year."
Serving in the 1st Battalion Yorkshire Regiment in Afghanistan in 2009, Simpson lost both his legs in an IED explosion while on routine patrol.
Although his injuries ended his Army career, getting inspired to take up wheelchair rugby saw him turn adversity into opportunity.
He said: "I didn't want my identity to be me getting injured, I never wanted to use that.
"I wanted to be a wheelchair rugby league player first and foremost who happened to be in the Army and who got injured and I fully accept that is part of my journey and who I am, but I never wanted that to be the first thing on everything."
Now an ambassador for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, he hopes that the newly found exposure wheelchair rugby now has will continue to grow.
He said: "The way wheelchair rugby has grown, and I have grown with it as a person, I am starting to get into the position now where when I do retire from the game, I have got those other opportunities that I hope are going to grow the game and make the game bigger, better, and stronger than it is now.
"So even when I do stop playing, I want to be in a place where I can make the game bigger and better for the next generation."
England are among the favourites to win the World Cup, as Simpson cites France as being their toughest competition. However, he believes that "this is our time now".
He said: "I think England wheelchair will win the World Cup.
"The biggest competition is going to be France, they invented this version of the game, they won the last two World Cups, but we beat them in the mid-season tests earlier in the year.
"So, France are going to be the competition, but I genially think that this is our time now," he added.
England have played and won against Australia, Spain and Ireland since the tournament began, where Simpson scored tries in the games against Spain and Ireland.
They are due to face Wales on Sunday as England continue their quest for a World Cup win.
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