Rhinos Foundation programmes offering Scholarship opportunities to junior players

Leeds Rhinos Foundation’s flagship Rugby League Development Plan is helping to unlock new pathways for young players in Leeds to earn a place in the Leeds Rhinos Scholarship.

The charity’s North v South programme, sponsored by RAM Films, and the Rhinos Talent Pathaway (RTP) series, sponsored by Soveriegn Homes, are two examples of extra opportunities that are now available for young players give to further their rugby skills away from their community club, learn from qualified coaches, and experience a representative environment and to play.

2025 saw over 200 players take part in the North vs South series, whilst the RTP sessions run across the year were attended by over 500 participants. Rhinos Head of Talent ID, Mark Butterill and Head of Youth, Darren Higgins, have both worked closely with Leeds Rhinos Foundation to tailor the development programmes and identify gaps where players could benefit from extra coaching and crucially, more chances to be seen by the club’s coaching staff.

From the players who took part in both programmes, Dylan Duckmanton, Toby Baker and Cavell Walton will take their development a step further as the trio joined up with Simon Brown's Scholarship side in the new cohort of Under-14s to begin their journey with the Rhinos.

Duckmanton took part in North vs South in both 2024 and 2025 off the back of a recommendation by his junior club, and after catching the eye of now Rhinos Head of Youth Darren Higgins with impressive performances, he was offered a Scholarship for this year.

“I feel like I just got better as a player from taking part,” he said: "The coaches really pushed me. As the only player from my club who took part, it took me out of my comfort zone, but I really enjoyed playing with a new set of lads. It's developed my confidence a lot and my ability in the position I play too.

“I think what the club is doing is really good for expanding how they're looking for players because I feel like North vs South brought together loads of people from across Leeds. A lot of my mates from my community club took part in the Rhinos Talent Pathway too and said they really enjoyed it, so it’s good that players are getting opportunities off the back of taking part.”

Baker featured in the North vs South competition too in 2024 and 2025, whilst Walton furthered his development by taking up the opportunity to be part of both North vs South and the Rhinos Talent Pathway sessions last year. Both players were invited for six-week trial periods and have successfully gained places in Brown’s squad.

Baker said: "I first signed up for North vs South because I wanted to get a new experience.

"After the second match of the North vs South this year, my coach told me that the club would be in touch to offer me a trial for six weeks so I could express myself in this environment, and I’ve really enjoyed it so far. 

“I learned a lot of new skills in North vs South and it's helped me improve my confidence in myself and in the rest of my team around me. For anyone who wants to get involved, I'd just say show as much as you can whilst you're at North vs South and express yourself fully."

Walton added: "Both programmes are brilliant opportunities and you never know, you could end up getting noticed like I did.

“We got some good coaching, and probably the thing I enjoyed most about it was playing at the stadium. I've always wanted to play there and it was a really good opportunity. At the Rhinos Talent Pathway, we were doing similar training to what we do in the Scholarship, so as soon as I came in here, I knew what it was all about and I just got stuck in.”

Leeds Rhinos Head of Talent ID Mark Butterill said: “We've done really well over the last two or three years in regards to our alternative pathway, which is finding players who take part in the RTP, North vs South, with Leeds Rhinos Foundation, as well as College and University Rugby. The game in general is a late development sport and people grow and develop at different stages, so we're looking to grow, expand, and increase the number of contact points so we're across all players and making sure that we are providing opportunities as a club. This is why the work Leeds Rhinos Foundation are doing through their Rugby League Development Plan is so important and it’s great that we are able to work with them to find new ways to support player development and creating opportunities for talented young players to be indentified.

“On top of that, we’ve also extended our traditional scouting methods across all divisions of the junior competitions, and have been able to get Luca Brinsley and Laike Smith from Division 4 teams onto our Scholarship. You can get good players across the board whichever league or team they're playing at, so as a club, we've expanded our scouting team, and we're across it all now. That’s not only rugby league, but rugby union as well.

“From our perspective, it's only going to get stronger, and I believe over the next two to three years it'll provide us with even more players for our scholarship systems. Personally, it's new for me coming into this role, but I'm really thriving in it, and I'm looking forward to the future here because I believe it's bright.”

The Rhinos Talent Pathway returns in February 2026 for players in Year 10 and 11, and at February half term for players in Years 7, 8 and 9. More information on how to sign up, as well as the latest information about North vs South, will be available soon on leedsrhinosfoundation.org and across the Leeds Rhinos Foundation social channels.