Giants classed ‘outstanding’

HUDDERSFIELD Giants have had their Academy classed as ‘outstanding’ by the RFL.

The evaluation comes alongside the same accolade for Catalans Dragons and City of Hull Academy and puts the Giants among the elite eight – which includes Leeds Rhinos, St Helens, Warrington Wolves, Widnes Vikings and Wigan Warriors have retained their ‘outstanding’ rating and been joined by the new trio.

The ratings are done independently and the Giants’ citation reads: “Huddersfield Giants are an outstanding Academy and the club has invested time, resource, money, expertise and belief in the Academy processes over the last three years.

“It has developed a clear mission and vision through working together coherently for a dynamic club-wide ‘philosophy and blueprint’, with the insightful coupling of performance and education, creating a more holistic approach.

“The Academy’s bespoke staffing structure extending to welfare and chaplaincy make its innovative player-centric approach extremely evident.

“Full-time training and education programmes accelerate progression within the club’s pathway, increasing opportunities towards first-team and Super League ambitions.”

All 13 Academies have been awarded licences – funded by Super League - to run for four years through to 2020.

Rugby Football League chief operating officer, Ralph Rimmer, said: “Eight clubs achieving an ‘outstanding’ rating is fantastic news for the sport – they should all be extremely proud of themselves along with the other clubs who have made significant improvements over the last 12 months.”