HUNSLET have appointed Leeds Rhinos Foundation’s Rugby League Development Manager, Darren Higgins, as their new director of rugby.
Higgins, who has worked in rugby league full-time for over 16 years, has also had spells as Head of Youth at Castleford Tigers and London Broncos.
Hunslet chief executive, Neil Hampshire, explained the appointment: “The immediate focus for Darren is to provide support for the Head Coach. In the short space of time since securing promotion, Dean (Muir, head coach) and the coaching staff have done a fantastic job of pulling a squad together to meet the demands of the Championship.
“The administration around this is immense and Darren’s appointment will free up Dean to concentrate on the coaching side of things.”
“To progress to where we want to be, the club has to be constantly looking to the future and Darren will be working closely with the Dean to develop recruitment strategies for 2026 and beyond.”
Higgins is currently the Rugby League Development Manager with the Rhinos Foundation and has been instrumental in ensuring Hunslet’s involvement in the highly successful North v South Programme linking up with the Leeds and Hunslet Schools Association.
He commented: “Hunslet is a great Club with great people and I’ve worked closely with Neil, Dean and Phil (Hodgson) on a number of things over the last 12 months.
“The club have been very supportive of the final year of my studies on my Masters Degree in Sports Directorship and I very much intend to put these learnings into practice as we aim to make the club competitive as a Championship club both this year and beyond.”
