Leeds Rhinos

Leeds Rhinos hand trial to rugby union star

by
Ollie Mitchell
March 6, 2024

Former Northampton Saints winger Josh Gillespie is on a month-long trial with the Leeds Rhinos.

The 23-year-old made four Premiership appearances for the Saints last year, but is now looking to cross codes to league.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Gillespie said: “Luckily, they were willing to give me a go.”

“I am here for a month’s trial, I’ll play a few reserves games and see where it goes from there.”

The winger has previously played for England’s under-18s and under-20s, and was the Saints’ youngest-ever player when he made his debut at the age of 18.

Gillespie is not the first rugby union player to be offered a trial for the Rhinos, as Lewis Boyce, former Harlequins and Bath loose-head, trained with the side in pre-season, before ultimately not being offered a contract at Headingley.

If he is signed by Leeds Rhinos, he’ll be in competition with the electric Ash Handley, who has scored 117 tries in 195 appearances for the club.

He’s expected to play his first game of rugby league at the weekend, when Leeds’ reserve side play against the Leigh Leopards.

Leeds Rhinos set for big game against Leigh Leopards

This game for the reserves will come alongside the Super League meeting between the two teams on Friday night.

Speaking ahead of the fixture, Rohan Smith said on Leeds Rhinos and their meeting with the Leopard:

“They’ve played two really hard games, they’ve fought hard, scrapped hard, there’s been some incidents in both of those games that have influenced the flow of the game and perhaps the outcome even. So we’re not looking at the results of those games. We’ve got a lot of respect for what Lee have done as a club in a short period of time.

“Adrian is a quality coach and I think with Ipape and Asiata not there, that puts the ball in the hands of Moylan and Lamb more. So they’re both very dangerous players and players we respect a lot.

“So we’re very conscious of doing our work in the middle of the field and getting stuck in but also being very well prepared for their shift plays and their ability to combine on the edges.