With the dust now settled on the 2026 Scholarship, Academy and Reserves seasons, Leeds Rhinos Head of Youth Darren Higgins has provided his reflections on a successful first year in his role.

Alongside new Head of Talent ID and Pathways Mark Butterill, the duo have overseen their first season in charge of producing the next generation of players to compete for a spot in Brad Arthur’s first team. Led by particularly strong seasons that saw both the Reserves and Academy come within 80 minutes of reaching both competitions’ Grand Finals, work has already started for 2027 with the announcement of the new Under-16s and Under-18s signings as the cycle prepares to start again ahead of pre-season.

Here are his reflections from the 2026 season:

2026 OVERALL

"From a team perspective, it was a little bit disappointing losing out on both finals, but we've not lost sight of the fact that it’s not really about that. It's about developing players and players stepping up to that next level.  Within that little disappointment of not making it to finals, especially at academy level, there have been a lot of learnings and improvements along the way, which should stand the boys in good stead moving forward.

"Overall, we’ve seen lots of success stories in terms of players improving, players being selected for Yorkshire, a lot of first years playing Academy rugby and some lads getting exposed to Reserve rugby. That's as well as Zak Lloyd playing Super League despite still being young enough to play in the Under-18s.

"We all get a lot of pride and satisfaction seeing the lads improve, knowing all the hard work that goes in behind the scenes. We ask a lot of them, we challenge them, but as much as they're driving their own journey, they're also a reflection of the environment that we create. In terms of staff, everyone's on point with their roles, good at what they do, and it's that synergy and working together which enables the lads to be at their best."

SCHOLARSHIP

"It's been a process of coming in and learning the environment for the new lads. That's our job as staff to be clear and supportive and create that environment for our players. In return, what the players are doing is buy into it and start to understand the environment. There were improvements as the season went along, and that last game of the year at St Helens was probably our strongest performance. A lot of our Under-15s have been exposed to Scholarship Rugby, so they'll be back for that next year, which you can twin with the new intake, who we're really excited about.  We're looking forward to the next 12 months especially.

"Simon Brown has transitioned from working with senior and academy players to leading the scholarship, which is a big change. I think he’s had to evolve and has found that working with young players requires different support and skill sets than working with the Under-18s and certainly the senior players. It's been a great learning curve for him, as it is for the players."  

ACADEMY

"Seeing the players during pre-season, it gave us a good insight into what they're capable of. They quickly settled and played beyond their years, which then saw some of them get a taste of Reserves rugby. They're an exciting crop that competed against each other in a healthy way all season, which I think brought out the best of them.

"There are some lads who get headlines, but for me, there have been a couple of success stories in different ways. Liam Watson came off the back of a really bad injury in Scholarship into his first year at Academy level. He got an injury again, dealt with it really well in terms of being professional and resilient and came back continuing to show improvement and what potential he's got. He’s a player who goes under the radar a little bit.

"Likewise, Will Wilkinson had a season-ending injury last season, so pre-season was affected. He still had a really strong year for the Academy and always added value to the team when he played. I'm pretty sure he would have been selected for Yorkshire had he not got injured towards the back end of the season.

"There are also a number of other lads who go under the radar at the moment but it’s about the potential they have and fulfilling it in the medium to long term."

RESERVES

"As a club, we are a big advocate of Reserves; we really believe in it. This year saw an extended playing programme, which produced a lot of quality games for us. Some games probably weren't at the standard we need, but that'll improve over time. 

"We've got the balance right between Reserves and giving players some exposure to the Championship on loan, and doing that on a case-by-case basis. Mainly, when our younger players are available, they've been playing Reserves, and they've all benefited this year from that."

2027 AMBITIONS

"For 2027, I want to keep improving. What we've done through Mark's role this year, we’ve made a hell of a lot of progress in terms of talent ID and supporting pathways and programmes around it. We're linking up closely with Leeds Rhinos Foundation and using the RTP, North vs South and Evolve programme, which has effectively been a shadow Scholarship squad.

"It's about not standing still with what we're doing in the building. We don't judge our success in terms of what we do through results and winning academy competitions - we do want to be there competing and learning how to win them - but ultimately what we're about is producing players. George Brown, Fergus McCormack and Zak Lloyd have made their debuts this year, so long may that continue with the conveyor belt we've got."