SEB BECHARA hopes to be blowing his own trumpet by inspiring England to World Cup glory – after annoying some of his bandmates by ducking out of important concerts to play rugby.
Top of his priority list, though, is scooping the trophy while opening many people’s eyes to the brutality of wheelchair rugby league, just like he did with his girlfriend.
The England star, born in Nottingham, is expecting plenty of banter as he has lived in the south of France since the age of 10 and many Catalans Dragons clubmates are in adopted homeland’s side, which is the favourite to win.
However, the competitive edge will not be dulled as the sport goes to the next level. Put simply, this is rugby league but players are in a wheelchair – the hits are as fierce, the action as intense.
And musician Bechara hopes to attract a lot of new fans of the discipline during a bid for the trophy, just as he did when his other half first saw it.