An ambulance service employee celebrates rugby league world cup success with England.

Adam Rigby, a Special Operations Project Support Officer, from North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) was part of the world cup winning squad.

His role is to support the incident response team for NWAS, ensuring colleagues attend relevant courses that keep them up to date with all their training.

Adding to this work, Adam is the Co-Chair of the Disability Network which highlights issues affecting staff with disabilities and long-term health conditions, supporting NWAS to commit to and raise awareness of disability and health conditions equality.

Adam, who plays club rugby league for Wigan Warriors, has been playing for the England international team since 2008 when he was involved in the inaugural world cup in Australia.

Since then, Adam has been using rugby as a release from work using the sport as a way of focusing on his mental and physical well-being.

Adam said: “I love everything about rugby, but it’s not a very well-funded sport, especially the wheelchair game, which gets little to no funding, so all the players have to work alongside training. Rugby is a breakaway from from work and any stress it’s a release. It’s real mental health and well-being relief.

“The support structures in Rugby League are great, they set up regular contact meetings with staff from Rugby League Cares, who are a dedicated charity for rugby league players and their wellbeing.”

The 2021 World Cup, although held in 2022, was the first time that the men’s, women’s, physical disability, and wheelchair events were held concurrently. Making it the most inclusive rugby tournament ever.