Big Interview: Team GB wheelchair rugby ace Myles Pearson

Indeed first-time observers of wheelchair rugby – or ‘murderball’ as it is often affectionately referred to – may be shocked by the intense physicality of the sport.

A game certainly not suited to the faint-hearted, the rough and tumble tactics employed by its participants often result in opponents hanging upside down with their wheels 
flailing in the air.

For Lancashire paralympian Pearson – who represented Team GB’s wheelchair rugby team in London 2012 – the fiery side of the game is what he loves the most.

“It is a brutal sport – everybody who has watched it says that,” said the 24-year-old, who has a condition called arthrogryposis, which is a rare disorder which affects joints and muscles.

“The contact involved in the sport is a massive part of it and also the pace of it surprises a lot of people. They don’t realise how fast it is until they actually watch a game.

“I am usually one of the smaller players so I get thrown about a bit, but it’s what I love about it.

“I am one of the fast and nimble players, who tries to create gaps for other players, but I still take my fair share of hits.”