Paul Anderson and Stuart Barrow have been confirmed in new roles at the RFL as Head of England Talent Pathways for male and female Rugby League respectively.
Anderson will continue in his role as England Knights head coach but has left Warrington Wolves, where he was Academy head coach, to join the RFL full-time.
The former Bradford Bulls, St Helens, England and Great Britain forward believes he can help strengthen the pathway across the England system.
“My job is simply to help England win a World Cup,” said Anderson. “I genuinely believe this is something we can achieve in 2022 – beyond this, it will be achieved through a connected Pathway from Academy to Knights then on to Shaun Wane and his senior team.
“I would like to thank Warrington Wolves and Peter Riding for giving me the opportunity to work with a lot of good people and to coach the next generation of Wire players over the last three years – this is something I have thoroughly enjoyed and will look back on with great memories.”
Meanwhile, Barrow has stepped up from his role as Women’s and Girls National Talent Manager at the RFL to head up the pathways in the women’s game.
A former coach with Bradford Bulls and Castleford Tigers, who has also had a player development role at Warrington Wolves, Barrow will be responsible for the strategy, management and implementation of England’s player and coach development programme.
Barrow said: “This role shows the significant growth in the Women’s and Girls’ game over the last few years and the need now to continue and develop the performance pathway from the National DiSE programme (Diploma in Sporting Excellence), through our England Women Knights set-up and on to the senior squad as we prepare for future World Cups.
“I am looking forward and excited to be supporting and working with coaches and players across the whole of game.”
Dave Rotheram, the RFL’s Chief On-Field Officer, added: “These are two key roles in the evolution of the male and female talent and performance pathways to build on the work already being done, with an eye to building towards future World Cups.
“As well as playing a significant role within the England teams, a key feature of these roles will to be offer support to coaches at the front line of coaching within club Academies and the Betfred Women’s Super League.”
