INCREDIBLE CONNOR IN A LEAGUE OF HIS OWN
Remarkable story of a lad who never gave up
THREE years after a blood clot on the brain and two strokes left him fighting for his life, Connor Lynes returned to a rugby league pitch for the first time on Sunday.
Lynes was a promising junior player, and was due to have a trial at his boyhood club Hull KR when he collapsed after a match aged just 14.
He was placed in an induced coma and heard medical staff telling his family he might not pull through, without being able to respond.
He told Mirror Sport: “The doctor said, ‘We might lose him’ and no kid wants to hear that.
“It was awful – I couldn’t even speak to say goodbye if I did go.”
But at the weekend he pulled on a shirt again for the first time since, lining up for Wakefield Trinity alongside former Super League stars Alan Hunte, Keith Mason and Nigel Wright. Connor’s own remarkable story is one of many found in the new version of the sport, Physical Disability Rugby League, which allows players with various disabilities to line up alongside able-bodied participants.
It meant that Connor, who is still prone to mini strokes, could realise a life-long dream of playing for a professional rugby league club.
He said: “I was nervous before the game because of the injury I’d had through rugby, but once I got into it I couldn’t stop smiling.
“I instantly fell in love with it after the first training session.”
Even before his terrifying accident at 14, Connor had come through some horrific personal adversity.
He lost his father aged one and was told at 10 he would never play rugby league again following an horrific double leg-break sustained when he was hit by a car. But today, he is not only back on the pitch but has also established his own charity to support youngsters that suffer brain injuries, is an ambassador for Life for a Kid and has won countless awards.
The launch of PDRL offered Connor a chance to play the sport he grew up with again, just weeks after an inaugural match between Warrington and Leeds that featured “The Last Leg” stars Adam Hills and Alex Brooker.
Connor added: “It’s a great concept because people think they can’t play rugby league again and have that opportunity taken away from them. It means we don’t have to officially say we retired at such a young age and gives us the chance to pull our boots on again.
“I didn’t really want to play normal touch rugby because it bores me – if I was allowed to go back to proper rules and proper tackles I would do.
“But this is making me happy again and I’m sure it can do the same for others.”
For more information on the Connor Lyne Foundation see www. teamconnorlynes.co.uk.