Diccon Edwards a former Leeds player has spent the last four years working for Leeds Carnegie running their RFU Academy.
Edwards joined Leeds in 1996 from Rugby League side Castleford Tigers and made 76 appearances for the club over a four season period and finished his career at Wakefield before becoming the RFU Rugby Development Officer in South Yorkshire. Edwards also played for Leicester Tigers and Newport, and Selby.

Head of Elite Player Development Stuart Lancaster said “Diccon brings a wealth of experience with him to the RFU not only as a player but also as a proven developer of young rugby talent through the Academy system. Having worked with Diccon before at Leeds I know he will be a great asset to the Elite Rugby Department.”

Diccon Edwards said “The decision to leave Leeds Carnegie is not one I have taken lightly however the opportunity to join the RFU is one that I feel has come at the right time in my career. I am immensely proud of what we have achieved with the Academy here at Leeds Carnegie including winning the Yorkshire Cup twice with an Under 19 side and seeing a number of players progress to the first team as demonstrated with our win over Leicester this season in the LV Cup when 14 Academy graduates were involved in the game. I was fortunate to work under Stuart Lancaster at Leeds prior to him leaving to join the RFU and he taught me a great deal. I am looking forward to working with him again. I know that the Academy at Leeds is in safe hands and I am sure that I will continue to monitor the progress of many of the great young players at Leeds through my new role.”

Leeds Carnegie Director of Rugby Andy Key added, “Whilst we are disappointed to lose Diccon, he goes with our very best wishes and gratitude for everything that he has done for the club and our young players. It is a compliment to our development system of not just players but coaches also, that both our former Academy Managers have now been brought on board at the RFU and it shows the quality set up we have here at Leeds Carnegie. The Academy remains at the heart of the development of our club and I am sure it will continue to grow on the foundations that Diccon has put in place.”

Elite Rugby Director Rob Andrew said “Diccon’s appointment underlines our commitment as a department to developing coaching talent in this country and giving them the opportunity to progress within the game. Jim Mallinder, Dorian West, Alex Sanderson, Martin Haag and more recently Mark Mapletoft are just five examples of coaches we have supported via our Coaching system and our aim is to help others achieve similar success going forward.”

Good luck from all at Selby RUFC!