PROCEEDS FROM ‘TAKE HIS LEGS’ GOES TO FOUNDATIONS

Comedian and PDRL star Adam Hills has generously donated money to all five PDRL clubs, with the competition currently on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hills’ documentary ‘Take His Legs’ – which aired earlier this year on Channel 4 – covered the game’s inception in the United Kingdom and saw his Warrington Wolves side travel to Australia to face his boyhood club – South Sydney Rabbitohs – in a battle for the inaugural PDRL World Club Challenge trophy.

The 50-year-old has now donated proceeds from this documentary to the Foundations of Warrington as well as fellow PDRL clubs Leeds Rhinos, Wakefield Trinity, Castleford Tigers and Wigan Warriors.

Hills said: “I feel very responsible for it, almost like a parent as I was there as it came into the world.

“I just want to give it the best start it possibly can have. I believe in the sport of PDRL so much. I’ve loved it.

“It has been completely life-changing for me and I know it has been for my teammates and all the other people who play it.

“I just felt bad taking all the money. I got so much out of it.

“I ended up playing Rugby League again. We played at Anfield, at the Halliwell Jones, at ANZ and did all this amazing stuff, and for me that is what I got out of it. So, I wanted to make sure some of the profits went to the foundations.

“Some have never had the chance to play Rugby League, while some of us did and had it taken away, so it feels like we have just rediscovered it again.

“The thing I’ve learned through all this is that sport goes hand in hand with mental health, especially disability sport.

“It is not just about playing Rugby League, it’s about turning up to train every week and having a whole bunch of guys that you can call your mates that you can bond with and who understand disability but don’t necessarily talk have to talk about it.”

Hills revealed he was always going to donate money to the Foundation but – given the current COVID-19 crisis – he felt it was even more important to do so.

“I gave some money to the Wolves Foundation, ended up sponsoring the training kit with some of the profits, and had some left over so wanted to make sure that all foundations benefit from this.

“Warrington started up the first PDRL team in the UK, but if it wasn’t for Leeds, Wigan, Castleford and Wakefield we wouldn’t have anyone to play against. If not for them, we wouldn’t have the competition.

“I felt that as much as we are enemies on the field, we all have a drink afterwards and we are all bonded by this common experience of having disabilities and being able to play Rugby League. We are all a bit of a family.”

Leeds Rhinos PDRL – who have been represented by fellow comedian Alex Brooker – were delighted to receive this financial boost during these unprecedented times.

Head of Community and Engagement at Leeds Rhinos, Gareth Cook, said: “It is very welcomed in these times of uncertainty. Any donation, big or small, is always well received.

“We got an E-Mail out of the blue from Adam saying we would get a donation from the profits from this documentary that we all watched. It is very generous, and he didn’t have to do it.

“For us, it will go towards buying new kit for the team next year. It really shows the togetherness of Rugby League.”