JACOB PICKERING is the inspiring young man that will be carrying out the ball for tonight’s Rugby World Cup final between New Zealand and South Africa.
Jacob, 14, was born without a left forearm due to a condition called congenital upper limb deficiency.
Land RoverJacob will carry the ball out for the Rugby World Cup final tonight[/caption]
That hasn’t stopped him from playing the game he loves, however.
At the age of eight, Jacob was spotted by a rugby coach while playing football for his local team in Blackburn.
On being scouted for Blackburn Rugby Union Football Club, Jacob said: “I was just bowling the other kids over and my coach came up to me and asked if I’d like to give rugby a go. I went along and never looked back.”
Jacob moved from tag to full contact rugby a year later and has never looked back, in fact, he said that the contact aspect of rugby is his favourite part of the game.
He told Land Rover, who sponsor the Rugby World Cup: “‘I just love tackling! Not something you get the chance to do in football.”
His mother, Kathryn Litherland told the Lancashire Telegraph that he was “delighted” to accept becoming the face of Land Rover for the Rugby World Cup.
She said: “Jacob is featured in adverts throughout the Rugby World Cup, and we travelled to all different places to film them, with one being in Blackburn.
“He was delighted to say yes to be the face of Land Rover, and we all think it is so crazy.
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“He has images all over France, and my friend in Australia sent me a photo of Jacob on the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald paper.
“He’s also in magazines and all over, but he has been really laidback about it and is loving it.
“He’s really excited because he loves playing rugby, it’s like a dream come true.”
In 2019, Jacob’s life was transformed when he received a state of the art bionic arm from Open Bionics, based in Bristol.
On receiving the bionic arm, his mother said:
“We went to a launch party in Paris with Idris Elba and Jason Fox where they were taking pictures and shaking his hands.
“I think it is so nice that on the adverts you can see his Blackburn Rugby Club kit.
“The whole point of this is inclusivity and diversity. For Jacob, it came at such a good time as he was being held back a little bit, but it now shows anyone can be part of a team even if they have a disability.”