OKEHAMPTON Rugby Club's Paul Lawrence has made his debut on the national stage after playing in an England Deaf Players XV against Wales on Sunday.

Paul, who regularly plays back row for Okehampton's first XV, turned out for his country against Wales in a competitive match for the Broadstreet Cup at Moseley's Billesley Common ground on Sunday. He qualifies to play for the England Deaf team after suffering from Bell's Palsy when he was three years old, leaving him completely deaf in his right year.

Okehampton Rugby Club played a huge part in developing Paul's passion for the sport, joining the club's junior team when he was 13 years old. Okehampton club coach Gaz Evans set up the trial with the England team for Paul after speaking to one of the coaches of Deaf England.

After an afternoon of trial games Paul was notified of his selection for the national team —news which he was 'thrilled about'.

A group of Paul's teammates and friends from Okehampton made the trip to the Midlands to show their support.

Paul said: 'Playing rugby at an international level has always been a lifelong ambition and I am completely honoured to have been given the opportunity to represent England in a sport I love.

'I was totally elated to be given a start on my debut game and walking out on to the pitch at Moseley was nerve-wracking, but the adrenaline started to kick in when I was singing the national anthem. That made me pumped and raring to play.

'I put 100% into the game which I hope came across in my play, but as a team we all played really well.

'The support and encouragement of my Okehampton team mates and my family and girlfriend was a huge drive to play my very best. I definitely had the loudest supporters in the stadium!'

England succumbed to an 8-20 defeat but made the Welsh work hard for their victory.

The turning point came ten minutes into the second half when England number eight Aaron Beesley was sent off for a second yellow card offence.

The Hove player had already been sin-binned for leading with the shoulder late in the first half and a repeat offence left referee Luke Haskins no option but to show Beesley a red card.

The England team already faced the disadvantages of playing up the slope and into a strong wind in the second half but, despite being down to 14 men for the last 30 minutes, they managed to deny Wales a try in the second half.

Instead Wales had to rely on two penalties from centre Celyn Ashton to build on their six point lead at half time and deny England only their third win in this fixture.

Despite the result England showed improvement from their defeat in Cardiff in January and with four new caps in the squad —including Paul — and capatain Graham Sage soon to return from long-term injury, the squad now has strength in depth.

The England Deaf Rugby Union was formed in 2003 to give deaf and hard of hearing players the opportunity to represent their country.

Players are eligible to play for the England Deaf team if they have a combined average hearing loss of 25 decibels or more in both ears, which roughly translates to a minimum hearing loss in both ears or a moderate hearing loss in one ear, but can hear normally in the other.