Rugby is Remarkable Tom’s Life
Tom Wilson is, to quote Derby RFC’s chairman Martyn Murney, “a remarkable young man.”
He is, says Martyn, rugby mad and a non-stop action man, undeterred by cerebral palsy and being profoundly deaf.
Tom’s latest non-stop action is selling his artwork to fund kit for his mixed ability rugby team, set up just over two years ago when Tom persuaded the club to get it off the ground.
Invited to take part in the Covid-delayed 2020 mixed ability World Games in Cork in the south west of Ireland, the squad Tom decided needed a second smart kit to play in.
With donations from Derby club members, Tom’s cash for stash is building up together with his enthusiasm.
Jo Timbrell, Tom’s full-time PA, has worked alongside Tom and his family for eight years. She travels with him to all the away games and will be with the team in Cork as their number one fan. His mum Angela encourages his love of rugby and his dad, Kieran, who died four years ago was a great inspiration in Tom’s sporting endeavours.
Tom’s other activities include horse riding and running. At the age of 16, he ran for Great Britain in Manchester’s Paralympic World Cup. He also ran the 100 and 200m in the Cerebral Palsy Senior Championships in Conneticut and volunteered in Barcelona for the 2017 Cerebral Palsy World Games.
His latest rugby kit fundraiser has featured on BBC news, in the Derbyshire Times and the local Ashbourne Telegraph.
Said Jo: “Tom does everything at 100 miles an hour and is always thinking of the next project before finishing the current one. He is full of life and enthusiasm and, although I’m here to keep his spirits up, it’s often him doing that for me, especially in lockdown. We had no other staff in lockdown but there he was full of energy and making sports videos for his cerebral palsy Instagram friends and selling his artwork. He already has about £600 towards the team kit. The rugby club means so much to him. It’s his second family and social network and he loves helping out as a volunteer.”
Tom was happy to sign his views too saying: “I love rugby and all my friends at the Derby club. It’s my life!”
