Inspirational Dragons Wheelchair Rugby member Barrie Evans is determined to raise awareness of disability and links with Dragons Community – and his latest design has done just that!
Barrie has been part of the Dragons Wheelchair Rugby set-up since the start of 2020 when he first discovered about the club based at Cwmbran Stadium.
Fast paced, high octane, highly addictive and the only full contact Paralympic sport, Wheelchair rugby is open to men and women with a physical impairment and paraplegics.
Barrie had his left leg amputated in October 2018 and has been determined live life to the full ever since.
He has achieved his goals of pushing his granddaughter in her buggy and also getting down on one knee to propose to Trish and then walking down the aisle to marry her.
And now he has continued his long-term love affair with rugby thanks to Dragons Wheelchair Rugby, a club supported by the Dragons Community team.
“It was in January 2020 that I first got chatting to someone who told me about Dragons Wheelchair Rugby,” said Barrie.
“As a proud Newport boy and now disabled, it was a way of representing both my hometown and disabled people.”
Barrie is now showcasing his passion for the team with a striking new design on his left leg socket carrying both the Dragons Wheelchair Rugby logo and Dragons symbol.
“My second leg was covered in Welsh flags,” revealed Barrie. “Dave Bradley, a fellow Dragon had the design made so when I had this new leg, it just had to go on my new socket.
“I wear it with pride and as a talking point to raise awareness of both disability and the link with the Dragons Community.
“At the end of the day, the more you can get people talking about my leg, the better!”
Gareth Sullivan, Community inclusion Officer at Dragons, is delighted with the new eye-catching design that underlines the link between Dragons Community and the Wheelchair Rugby side.
“Barrie truly is an inspiration with the way he has dealt with the amputation and vowed to life his life to the fullest ever since,” he said.
“His new striking and visual support of both the Dragons Wheelchair Rugby team and the work of Dragons Community is fantastic to see.
“We’re all very excited at Dragons with the way the Wheelchair Rugby team has developed in recent years, as a key part of our inclusive rugby provision, and look forward to them continuing to go from strength to strength.”
For more on the Dragons Wheelchair Rugby team click HERE
