The Portugal basketballer turned England rugby player

The story of how Luis Domingos switched from playing wheelchair basketball for Portugal to wheelchair rugby league for England is a complicated one. But it involves a business management degree in Huddersfield.

Castleford Tigers' Domingos is one of two uncapped players in England's 10-man squad for the wheelchair rugby league Ashes. Tom Coyd's side will play four matches in late October and early November, including two Tests against Australia.

It wasn't part of the 27-year-old's plan to make the Ashes squad when he returned to England after several years playing basketball professionally in Italy, Spain and Portugal. It just turned out that way.

"It was mainly because of family and wanting to achieve a goal of mine, which was to get a degree," he said.

"When you're doing a professional sport for so long, you get used to it and that becomes your normal. But I want to experience different things in life and getting a degree is one of the things I want to achieve. And I want to do it young, not after I finished my career."

Born in Setubal, near Lisbon, of Angolan descent, Domingos is a wheelchair user as a result of a childhood bout of polio. He moved to Leeds with his family when he was 14 - "I'm a Leeds United fan" - and took up first wheelchair basketball with Leeds Spiders, for fun, and then rugby league with Leeds Rhinos, to improve his fitness.

He was good enough at basketball to attract the attention of Portugal's co-captain Pedro Bartolo, who at the time was playing professionally in Italy's Serie A wheelchair basketball league with Varese. Domingos was invited to the northern Italian city, about 35 miles from Milan, for a trial.

"It was around 2019," he said. "They invited me for two weeks' trial, but after three or four days, they said OK, just pack your stuff and come here. We like you."

The offer of a professional contract came with a problem, though. Varese wanted Domingos straight away, but he was partway through studying for a healthcare qualification at Leeds City College. The solution? A chat with his friendly course leaders.

"I spoke to my college and they allowed me to do the course online," he said.

"It was too good an opportunity to turn down. For me it wasn't about the money - it was just about the opportunity to train every day.

"I went on my own. At the time, I didn't mind because I was going to live my dream. But as soon as I got there, I had a reality check. It was an expensive country. It was difficult to adapt from having my mum's food every day to having to cook every day, it was challenging. But it was an amazing experience."

Domingos passed his healthcare course too - and over the next few years, spent time in Spain with second-tier Basketmi Ferrol and top-flight Servigest Burgos, then followed his friend and mentor Bartolo to Portugal to join BC Gaia, all the while racking up international appearances for the country of his birth.

"Spain's the biggest league in the world," Domingos said. "It's the NBA of wheelchair basketball.

"I played alongside two of the best players: Mateusz Filipski - he's known as wheelchair basketball's Steph Curry. He can shoot from everywhere. He's a good leader, an amazing human. And I played alongside Lee Fryer, one of England's most exciting emerging players."

But Domingos wanted to come back to England to study, starting a business management degree at the University of Huddersfield - he is set to graduate next summer.

He kept up his fitness playing wheelchair basketball for a team in Wakefield, who shared training facilities with Wheelchair Championship rugby league side Castleford. A friend urged him to sign up with Cas - and everything has snowballed from there.

In April, he scored the winning try as they beat North Wales Crusaders to win the Wheelchair Challenge Trophy, for second-tier clubs. In June, he was called into England's 17-strong national performance squad.

And then in August, he made the final 10 to fly to Australia - qualifying for the call-up on residency grounds. His domestic season was capped last month when Castleford beat Rochdale in the Wheelchair Championship Grand Final.

"It feels amazing to be part of the Ashes," he said. "England is a family. I feel privileged to be part of this.

"I think my experiences with Portugal will help me to deal with the pressure. I can take some of the things I've learned in professional settings to this.

"At the moment, I'm enjoying this. Everything happens for a reason and you know, if I try to understand the reason, it won't be so. Whatever happens tomorrow, I'm not sure. I'm hoping it's a good thing, but I'm living today."