The Deaf England rugby team are improving year on year and growing to allow more space for deaf players to represent their nation. Here’s how Corey Beck is fulfilling his childhood dream and inspiring the next generation into believing they can too.

There is no doubt that deaf and partially sighted people face obstacles and barriers in everyday life that the average person does not have to face. It shouldn’t be forgotten that this is also the case in sport, which can lead to those with disabilities feeling left out. Does that make deaf sportspeople underdogs? Well, Corey Beck, a 27-year-old deaf England rugby union captain, believes that the community being built is making it more than achievable for deaf people to achieve their sporting dreams.

How did your hearing impact your ability to take part in sports while growing up?

I was born deaf, which massively affected my social environment and communication. It took me a while to develop skills on how to combat it, and I started playing in regular teams. It was tough, but nothing was going to stop me from playing the sport I love.

How important is it for deaf and partially sighted people to have their own space and community to enjoy sports?

It’s so important for deaf people of all abilities to have a space to go and enjoy rugby. The community element is vital. We want to play elite rugby. We want to be the best team. But we also want to create an environment where anyone can be part of our community, and I think we’ve got some players who will never play competitively, but they’re still part of it all, and those community elements allow them to still bond and make friendships and get the benefit of sport. Actually, being a part of something a bit bigger than yourself is important, no matter what level it is. It’s about the opportunity to do it.

What has been your proudest achievement in an England shirt?

The proudest thing about playing for England is travelling and playing all around the world. It’s phenomenal. The captain’s role is something I’m so proud of because it means I am able to bring a community of lads together, because we are a really strong, tight-knit community. We support each other. We’ve just come back from playing in Wales. Everyone in the hotel together, dinner together. We live and breathe in the existence of each other. It’s special. You have to foster a lot of that as captain and make sure the social side stays strong as well.

What is the social element like at England?

Rugby is all about the social element. It’s not all p**s ups. It is at university, but now we have a lot of team dinners. We have a good fine and forfeit system, which is not just drinking. If you’re late for training, you might have to bake for the team or buy them treats. It’s all those little things that build up the social side, and it’s all the things off the pitch that make you successful on it.

It’s a unique sport in that regard. I train with a 400m hurdler in the gym. He can’t get it in his head the social element. He does an individual sport that is strict. We play a game where you get through 5,000 calories on a Saturday, and you have to replace them.

What is it like going on tour with England?

Trying to get 30 lads through Heathrow is always a challenge. We travelled to South Africa last summer. We’ve also done Argentina, Australia, and Bulgaria. We had the World Series in Japan last year. South Africa is my favourite place to play in the world. The people. The wine. The whole country is just an amazing place.

What does your role as secretary consist of?

Things like attracting funding from the RFU, Sport England. Just kind of supporting behind the scenes a little bit where I can. I balance a career as well. In my private life, I do strategy development for local government, so I do something similar for a living. We want to grow the game and grow the organisation so I try to help with this and to help the charity grow.

It’s just that kind of support to make sure that the playing side is one thing, but actually we also grow the organisation and the game in a way that reaches as many deaf people as possible.

What is it like playing against Wales as the underdog?

It’s tough. Mentally and physically draining. Playing Wales in Wales is a game that we always struggle with. It’s a really difficult place to go. We didn’t win there for four years, and that always hurts as a player. We have to play a perfect game to win over there, and we were able to do that and get a famous win away in Wales not long ago.

We play them in London in a couple of weeks. It will be a hard match, but we intend to play a good brand of rugby that really expresses how we want to play and what we want to do on the pitch. We want to be nice and expansive, move them around, and then be direct up front.

How long have you been playing for England, and how much do you think you’ve got left in the tank?

I played my first England game in 2018, and I have now been the captain for four seasons. They announced it just before a game in a hotel. It was a nice surprise. I’d never led another team, so I was focusing on doing my own thing, playing my own game. Had one game as vice-captain and then stepped in to captain.

I think for me it’s just about playing as much good rugby as possible and just enjoying it. It sounds like a copout answer, but it’s hard to constantly enjoy it when you’re always looking for the next thing. I’ve now played over a decade of rugby. I’ve played for 15 years now, and I think my focus is on really enjoying those moments with the team and enjoying being out there for as long as possible because the body is not going to be there forever, especially in this sport, which is contact-based. Now it’s about enjoyment and bringing on some of the younger lads and starting to mentor some of them who are coming through and making them aware that they have a safe space to express themselves on and off the pitch.