Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
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Leeds Beckett rugby union quartet represent Yorkshire Carnegie
Tristan Lloyd (flanker), Harry Robinson (winger), Xavier Valentine (tight head prop) and Mike Waters (fly half) all successfully made the step up to the semi-professional level with Robinson (pictured) marking his debut with a try in the 22nd minute.
Rugby Union Programme Manager at Leeds Beckett University, Kerry Wood, believes that their success highlights the important role which the university plays in helping to develop professional rugby players.
Kerry Wood said: “We see ourselves as a performance pathway to professional rugby. Our numbers in terms of players over the past five years warrant that. I think more than 22 players have gone on to play Championship or Premiership rugby.
“When the players have been playing well, the team has also been playing well and other people have been turning their heads and watching.
“Through our partnership with Yorkshire Carnegie we have been talking to their first team coaches, saying you need to look at this player, they’ve taken a leap of faith and given them the opportunity and they all did really well.
“We work together within the training teams to make sure that we look after the athletes and it goes back to the point that this is a great place for professional rugby and for players to develop as professional rugby players.”
Yorkshire Carnegie triumphed 43-22 in the fixture which was played at Huddersfield YMCA.