If you happen to see a bearded bloke wearing South Sydney Rabbitohs gear in the Crouch End area of north London, it’s almost certainly comedian Adam Hills. The Last Leg presenter is a huge rugby league fan and has recently become the public face of the physical disability version of the sport, which explains why he is playing at Anfield this weekend.

How did you end up supporting South Sydney Rabbitohs?

“I grew up in Cronulla-Sutherland territory, so should be a Sharks supporter. But my grandfather grew up literally under the Sydney Harbour Bridge and moved to another Souths area. When I was three days old, my dad brought a red and green toy rabbit into the hospital and that was it. So we’d go to Endeavour Field, or Shark Park or whatever it’s called now … which reminds me I need to check the Sharks score [pauses to look up NRL latest on phone].”

You’ve lived in London for the last decade. Have you kept involved in league?

“I’ve had this weird journey in rugby league. I grew up in Sydney and rugby league was all I knew. I moved to Adelaide at 21 and that was that! It’s an Aussie Rules town. There was no internet of course, nothing on TV or the back pages. You’d have to search the fine print for the NRL scores. In the 1990s they might not even show State of Origin. Even living in Melbourne I’d only go to Storm games against the Rabbitohs. It was the NRL app that got me back into it.”

How did you get back your love of league?

“Our director at one time at The Last Leg was from St Helens. He said something like: ‘Of course, the only real sport is rugby league.’ And I went ‘What?!’ Listening to him talking about how much he loved rugby league got me excited again and that coincided with Michael Maguire coming to the Rabbitohs and a good few successful years, culminating in 2014. And every NRL game was on Premier Sports here, too. All of that came together.”

Did you play as a kid?

“Yes, at school until I was about 14, but tennis was my main sport. It’s probably why I am so obsessed with league now. It was the unfulfilled thing for me. So now, at the age of 48, I’ve jumped at the chance to play disabled rugby league. I’m full-on back into it. I’ve become obsessive!”

You’re playing for the Warrington Wolves physical disability team but you live in London. How does that work?

“Every Tuesday get the 3.30pm train to Warrington. As it pulls out of Euston my shoulders drop and I can relax. I get so much work done. I write The Last Leg script and the show can be so much better by Friday. Someone from the team meets me at the station and I’m at training by six. We run around like idiots and then I’m on the 8.20pm train back, and I’m home and soaking in the bath by 11pm! It’s bliss. When you exercise as part of a team it produces so many more endorphins than exercising by yourself. It makes me a happier person for the rest of the week.”

How does it fit around work?

“Genuinely, I’m planning my year around rugby league games! So I’m not touring or doing Edinburgh this year. My wife is keen for us to do a four-week driving tour through Europe this summer and I’m trying to route it so I can fly back to Manchester every Tuesday for training! After our first game at Wakefield I had to come straight off the pitch and head for the station, change into my suit on the train back to London and then go to the South Bank for the Baftas. I took a tube of soap and used a lot of deodorant. I said to the people next to me: ‘Sorry I haven’t showered!’”

Hills in action for Warrington against Leeds in his debut last year. Photograph: Bob Brough/Warrington Wolves

What does the PDRL season look like this year?

“The RFL have organised five rounds of ‘festivals’ rather than home and away games. The enthusiasm has been enormous, but we – I’m on the PDRL steering committee – need to put the infrastructure in place to support that. The sport has really taken off. The amount of people wanting to play has kind of eclipsed the rules. We need to decide what’s disabled and what’s not. There are no rules at the moment. Now we need to think: ‘Hang on, what really is a disability? Is arthritis of the hips a disability? Do we need a classification system to make it fair?’ Maybe we’re heading towards playing without any able-bodied players.”

Some disabilities are far more visible than others…

“You can’t see mine unless I’m wearing shorts. Our PDRL coach has nystagmus: he can’t focus, can’t drive, but he’s played rugby since he was four and he’s amazing. But how much of a disability is that? Physically, there’s no stopping him – but he can’t see the ball until it’s about three metres away! We’ve filmed the whole PDRL journey and Channel 4 are showing it. I’ve just watched the first cut and not everyone’s disability is obvious. So we have to decide how much to explain to the viewers. No one is going to watch anything they don’t understand.”

You got to kick for goal at Wembley, didn’t you?

“Yes, I did the half-time challenge at the Challenge Cup final. I used to kick with my (prosthetic) right foot. I thought that was weird until Jonathan Davis told me he kicked with his weaker leg because your stable leg does all the work. But the prosthetic kept breaking so I had to teach myself how to kick left-footed. I looked like a right-handed person throwing left-handed, drunk. Practising for Wembley I thought, ‘I’ve got a new blade here, let’s try right-footed.’ Every kick went over! It was such an incredible feeling. I missed at Wembley, though. But when we scored the last try at ANZ Stadium, in front of the posts – luckily - they let me convert it. So there was a lovely moment when I looked up at the scoreboard to see my name with two points next to it.”

Adam Hills meets the Catalan Dragons and Warrington Wolves players before the Challenge Cup final at Wembley in 2018. Photograph: Anna Gowthorpe/BPI/REX/Shutterstock

How safe is your prosthetic?

“Well, the cast is graphite but the blade is titanium which can do some real damage. If you tackle properly it shouldn’t, but accidents happen. So at the last training session I wrapped the whole thing in bubble wrap! I pulled my sock over it. I messaged all the guys beforehand, saying if you tackle me and something pops, don’t panic!”

So, one of Warrington PDRL’s two able-bodied players is former England full-back Shaun Briscoe. Isn’t that cheating a bit?

“No – you get the best you can! We’ve also had Toa Kohe-Love, Lee Briers, Jérôme Guisset. Leeds had Garry Schofield and Barrie McDermott playing, Wakefield had Keith Mason – ex NRL, now an actor. But the able-bodied players are not allowed to make tackle busts, score, kick or run more than 10 metres. Brisc said he was burnt out and done when he finished playing, but he’s absolutely loved it.”

It must be weird having international teammates…

“When you’ve got Shaun Briscoe taking you aside, giving tactical advice, Jerome Guisset saying ‘Adam get in here and have a run’ and Lee Briers firing you passes, it’s amazing. Matt King and Joey Johns played for us at ANZ. When Andrew Johns feeds you the ball, you’re under so much pressure. You can’t muck it up. Jason Clark came down to training the night I fractured my ankle. He helped me off the field, strapped me up and put ice on it. We sat there talking about Wayne Bennett, which, as a Rabbitohs fan, was really surreal.”

Speaking of surreal, you’re playing at Anfield on Saturday during Magic Weekend…

“Yeah, we’re playing the Leeds PDRL team at half-time in the Hull FC-Huddersfield game. Alex [Brooker from The Last Leg] is going to play, too. He played for about 10 minutes against us for Leeds last year. His good foot is not great so he can’t play for long. It’s going to be really cool.”

Follow No Helmets Required on Twitter and Facebook