Matt Hampson suffered a dislocated neck that trapped his spinal cord when a scrum collapsed while he was training with England for an under-21 international in March 2005.

The former Leicester prop, who is now paralysed from the neck down and must breathe with the aid of a ventilator, has become an inspirational figure in the game.

Mr Hampson, now 23, visited Daniel James and was hugely distressed by his death last month. All that he will say now is that it was “an incredibly sad situation”.

Mr Hampson emphasised that his overcoming the difficulties in his own life was the result of the support from his family, most notably his parents, Anne and Phil, and friends.

“The key for me personally has been the tremendous support I have had from people, not just in rugby but all walks of life,” Mr Hampson said.

“I’ve seen people who have been in hospital for months, years on end, who don’t have people coming to see them for weeks. I had people around me all the time from day one.”

His father built a home to Mr Hampson’s specifications on land next door to the family house in Rutland. This allows him mobility in his wheelchair but he requires a team of eight to ten carers, two of whom are there 24 hours a day. He is planning to build his own house just down the road from the family home.

“I’ve been able to set up my own website, which tells people what I’m doing with my life, how motivated I am,” Mr Hampson said.

“I don’t live a bad life, I live a different life. I use my brain more than my brawn now. It has helped me become a more rounded person. I think about things more. I’ve had to grow up quite a bit and do things that most 23-year-olds don’t do.

“I think it’s my duty to carry on for my family. Mum has been the major force — she hasn’t let me get away with anything.

“But mentally I’m still the same person that I was before the accident and she treats me like the same old Matt. I was always a pain in the backside for her.”

Mr Hampson not only has his own website, he is writing his autobiography and has become the patron of a charity called Special Effects, designed to help children in intensive care with communication problems.

Mr Hampson hopes that he can help to raise money for the equipment that will enable disabled children to use computers to communicate. “If I had had that technology straight away, it would have been life-changing and I was only in that situation for a couple of months,” he said.