Haringey Rhinos
the club now they’ve finished university,
which has had a really positive impact.
“Youth rugby is absolutely critical to the
club! It’s how we’re building the next
generation of Rhinos. I was watching a
men’s first XV match a few weeks ago
and seven of the starting fifteen had
come up through our youth section. Last
season, we had thirteen girls playing for
county which is a great achievement,
considering we only started our girls’
teams the year before.
“63% of our kids are from BAME
backgrounds, which makes us one of the
most diverse clubs in the union and it’s
great to see kids from such a huge mix of
backgrounds playing rugby.
“We’re part of the RFU All Schools
programme which has been absolutely
crucial in growing our youth side.
We’ve built great relationships with
local schools, which we will continue
to develop to make sure more kids are
playing rugby at the Rhinos.
“Our older youth teams train at the same
time during the week as our senior sides,
which helps build relationships between
players. Our Director of Rugby, Dan
Quinn, has developed transition plans
for the older youth players and works
really hard to make sure youth players
transition smoothly into the senior
teams. We provide the players with lots
of support and one-on-one coaching
to improve their skills. Dan also works
with our youth coaches to make sure
everyone is coaching the Rhinos style of
play.
“We are absolutely a community club!
We work closely with schools, Haringey
Council and other local charities and
partners to recruit players and volunteers
from the community. We want to be a
force for good in Haringey, particularly
as the borough has so many challenges.
“We use the club’s network to help our
youth players get jobs, internships and
work experience and we also help them
with their CVs, university applications
and prep for interviews. Wherever
possible, we want to make a difference to
the lives of our players, volunteers and
the wider community.
“Like any club, I think the biggest
challenges we face centres around
recruiting and retaining players, so
that’s our big focus. I also want to
grow the number of volunteers in the
club, so it’s really important volunteers
feel well supported in their roles. Our
ambitions for the next five years are for
more players, more teams and league
promotions all round!”
www.rugbyclubmag.com
99