Four schools from Leeds competed in friendly matches on the Headingley Carnegie pitch as a pre-cursor to the Rhinos Academy match vs Australian Schoolboys on Tuesday night, with Corpus Christi and Temple Moor securing victory.
Year 7 teams from Woodkirk, Morley, Corpus Christi and Temple Moor played out their friendly matches as part of an ongoing relationship with the Leeds Rhinos Foundation, in front of family, friends and some onlooking members of the Rhinos and Australian Schoolboys teams who took to the pitch moments afterwards.
Staff and coaches from the Foundation have worked with each of the schools this year and will continue to support them as they aim to progress to the national final, which is played at Wembley Stadium before the Challenge Cup Final.
In two very competitive games, Corpus Christi and Temple Moor schools came out victors on the night, both capitalising on strong starts, on a night that was organised by Leeds Rugby Foundation as a reward for the schools all making it through to the regional qualifying phase of the Championship Schools Competition.
Russell Parker, High School Development Officer for the Leeds Rhinos Foundation, organised the matches and commented on the significance of the event: “The point of tonight is to recognise the hard work the young kids have put in to get through to this stage, but also for them to come and see players from the Academy and the best from Australia play afterwards. We hope this gives some of these young people the motivation to keep playing and working hard and maybe one day they can enjoy more nights like this as academy players or eventually professionals.
“That progression is a possibility for any of the kids who played tonight, the games were high spirited and played in the right way and at a very good standard and we hope that the continuing support we can offer through the foundation should help them achieve a lot in the game.”
An attendance of 1840 made the night a great success, raising vital funds for the Leeds Rhinos Foundation and offering the children from our partner schools a memorable experience. Thank you to everybody who came out in support.