'Limited opportunities' sees Wigan Warriors youngster make move to Leigh Leopards

Head coach Adrian Lam has added 20-year-old Kavan Rothwell to his squad from Wigan on a one-year deal from 2024.

The forward progressed through the academy ranks at the Warriors, having signed his first contract with the club aged 14 from Wigan St Patricks.

He previously represented England under-16s against Wales in 2019, and made his senior debut for Midlands Hurricanes earlier this season in League 1.

Rothwell played three more games on loan at Barrow Raiders in the Championship alongside Zach Eckersley. He did not feature for Wigan’s first team.

“I’m excited and can’t wait to get started,” he said following the move.

“I really enjoyed my time at Wigan and had the benefit of some good coaching. I can’t fault Wigan. When Lammy was head coach I trained with the first team quite a bit and hopefully I made a good impression.

“When I started playing, I was a back-row but these days I’m a middle. Leigh’s approach came out of nowhere but as soon as I heard about it I knew it was what I wanted.”

Leigh’s head of rugby Chris Chester commented: “Kavan is a young kid who’s been at Wigan for several years. He represented his country at junior level, and he’s found his opportunities limited at Wigan.

“He’s a big lad, with a good skill set who wants an opportunity, and we can offer him that.

“He will benefit from a full pre-season with Adrian Lam, Tony Clubb and the rest of the guys and we are looking forward to working with him.”