Huddersfield Giants have moved their entire rugby department away from the John Smith’s Stadium into a new custom-made facility off Leeds Road.

Until now, head coach Paul Anderson and his staff had been based at the stadium, with their gymnasium and physiotherapy off site.

But everything is now under one roof, which Giants officials know will make the day-to-day running of the rugby operation far easier.

The Super League club have worked in conjunction with site neighbours the Textile Centre of Excellence to get the new Giants’ base up and running, with Giants managing director Richard Thewlis believes now places his club in a far stronger position.

The new Huddersfield Giants gym
The new Huddersfield Giants gym

“Over the years we have invested increasingly in the playing and coaching roster to the point where I believe we are now established as a leading club on the field,” he said.

“The next step was to look at facilities and, while development of the site at Woodfield Park remains a long-term aim, it’s still some way away from becoming a reality.

“An opportunity presented itself via the Textile Centre of Excellence, and we moved very quickly with the assistance of Bill Macbeth (the managing director of the Centre) to turn what was previously a hands-on practical study area for students into what is now one of the best elite rugby environments in the entire game.

“Words alone struggle to do justice to the superb facility our team now enjoy. All our staff and players are together under one roof for the vast majority of their work, with the playing field at Leeds Road only minutes away.

“Our previous facility had done us proud for many years but now we all felt the time was right to ‘up the ante’ and invest heavily into what is in essence a custom-made elite training facility which has already started to turn many envious eyes in the game in our direction.

“It is of sufficient size that the club’s Scholarship pupils and Academy players can also utilise it under the guidance of an expanded staffing structure for them, led by (Head of Youth Performance) Andy Kelly and certainly can give any prospective parent considering the club a real ‘wow’ factor when they walk in.

“It will naturally increase the contact time between coaches and players, and cut down logistical time losses as we’d previously had to move from venue to venue on a daily basis.

“We have also invested in new gym equipment, the benefits of which, alongside the work of our conditioning staff, we expect to deliver an improvement in our athletic ability throughout the entire playing roster.”

The new Giants gym
The new Giants gym

And the new facility has certainly made the right impression on head coach Anderson.

“It’s a massive step forward for the club in my eyes, and I believe the right decision to significantly upgrade our work spaces,” he said.

“Facilities have been an on-going sore for many of us who have been at the club for a while, but for me this ‘nails’ totally that issue and we can now stand alongside most clubs and ahead of many with the environment we have.

“It’s a real freshener to come here and for the first time ever work in natural light, as one example from the past scenario, and everyone who has seen it has been really impressed with what we and the Textile Centre of Excellence have achieved.”