Praise for 'such polite, respectful boys' as Leeds Rhinos stars make annual children's hospital visit

Each year players donate their kit to the Leeds Rhinos Foundation for a sale which raises money to buy presents for youngsters who will be in hospital over the Christmas period. Rhinos men’s coach Rohan Smith joined his squad for this year’s visit, alongside Keara Bennett, Sophie Nuttall and Caitlin Casey from the women’s team. The surprise was particularly special for seven-year-old fan Vinny, from Cross Gates, who was recovering following surgery and wearing his Rhinos shirt when players arrived on the ward. He met the entire team, who all signed his Leeds jersey and his mum Emma said: “It has been overwhelming and just shows every cloud has a silver lining. We were feeling a bit down in the middle of the day, but now we’re all smiles. The players are all such polite, respectful boys. Thank you so much Leeds Rhinos.”

Rhinos hooker Jarrod O'Connor said: “We know some people are going through tough times at the moment and being in hospital at Christmas is difficult for children and their families, so we are pleased to come down and hopefully put a smile on people's faces. The whole city of Leeds shows us support every week and it's only right we pay that back and do our part to support our community and help those out who are a bit less fortunate.”

Foundation head of community Gareth Cook added: “We have been working with Leeds Children's Hospital for a number of years now. During the year we do a little bit of fundraising and buy gifts for the children. We come down with the squad to visit about 15 wards and speak with the children and their parents and hopefully make Christmas that little bit easier.

“It is always a really positive reaction to the squad. The fact the players really engage and spend a lot of time talking to parents and children, having pictures and signing autographs, means a lot to them. We look forward to this visit every year and it was great to see the players interacting with the children.”

Lisa Beaumont, therapeutic and specialised play manager at Leeds Children’s Hospital, said: “We have lots of children on the wards in the build-up to Christmas and no child wants to be in hospital at this time of year. The fact the Rhinos come in and can bring a bit of the Christmas magic with them and give out gifts to patients and bring smiles to the faces of some of the parents has been great. Things like this really make such a big difference.”