Even though the sport of rugby had caused Andy Barrow to be severely injured, he still loves the oval-ball game until today.
A broken neck at 17 following a scrum saw Barrow confined to a wheelchair, but he turned a traumatic event into a celebrated career in wheelchair rugby, where he participated in three Paralympics for Great Britain, three World Cups and became a European champion.
Now a Laureus ambassador, the 40-year-old follows the sport closely. And despite the Springboks’ Rugby World Cup final victory over his beloved England last November, Barrow said he fully grasped the significance of Siya Kolisi lifting the Webb Ellis Cup.
“I caught all of it in full detail! Rugby is my game, and I was absolutely gutted. But in some ways, it wasn’t close – you guys were so much better. There wasn’t something where we could say ‘If only this or that happened’. You guys smashed us and you deserved it,” Barrow told Independent Media on a visit to Rusthof Primary School in Strand this week, where he watched the kids participating in the Living Legends sport outreach programme sponsored by Laureus.
“And yeah, it meant more to South Africa as a country, but that didn’t mean to say you should just win it automatically. You won it because you deserved it on the field. And to see Siya do that… I remember the first time around in 95, it’s fantastic and just shows what sport can do.”
We spoke to Barrow about his career ahead of the Laureus World Sports Awards, which will take place in Berlin on February 17…
IOL Sport Talk: Paralympian Andy Barrow chats to Ashfak Mohamed.
Andy Barrow visited Rusthof Primary School in Strand this week. Video: Ashfak Mohamed. Edited by: Sandisiwe Ntlemeza/African News Agency/ANA
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