Rhinos Challenge communities engage with the RFL’s ‘Try for Tomorrow’ Climate Action Fund programme

At the 2026 Rhinos Challenge in May, Rugby League communities engaged with the RFL Community Trust’s ‘Try for Tomorrow’ climate action activation, helping to build momentum behind the programme ahead of its launch during the Great Big Green Week. The event welcomed more than 3,500 players, with the Rhinos Challenge itself also seeing 354 Rugby League teams take part.  

Highlights from the Rhinos Challenge include: 

• 1,250 matches played  
• 60 young referees supported and developed in partnership with local referee societies
• 3,500 Rugby League players  
• 13,000 total attendees  
• A bespoke girls’ event weekend for Under-12s to Under-14s, featuring 30 teams  
• Nine Rhinos players and legends visited sites and handed out medals  

Thanks to National Lottery players, ‘Try for Tomorrow’ partners have received £1.5 million from The National Lottery Community Fund, the UK’s largest community funder, to help the Rugby League family and communities across the country reduce the impact of human activity on the climate.  

Developed to complement the wider ambitions of the RFL Community Trust, Try for Tomorrow will drive climate action through engaging, hands-on educational sessions focused on food, energy, transport, waste, nature and water, turning environmental awareness into practical everyday action through sport.  

The climate action activation at the Rhinos Challenge also saw the RFL Community Trust unveil a key feature of the programme: the Utility Bench, delivered in partnership with Rethink Food. The initiative gave Rugby League communities a tangible understanding of the environmental impact of food waste and fast fashion, with more than 50 pieces of clothing and 70kg of food recycled in just one day.  

Representatives from the RFL and RFL Community Trust also took to the stage during the event’s closing presentation, marking an important early milestone for the project. They introduced communities to a more sustainable approach designed to connect climate action with everyday behaviours and encourage participation through accessible, Rugby League-inspired activities.  

The wider ‘Try for Tomorrow’ programme brings together strategic partners including Rethink Food and Substance, alongside the Rugby League foundation network, including Leeds Rhinos Foundation, to deliver meaningful and lasting impact across communities.  

RFL Community Trust Chairman, Marc Lovering, said:  

“At the RFL Community Trust, we are thrilled to receive £1.5 million from [The National Lottery Community Fund]() for our Try for Tomorrow programme. Over the next three years, this support will help us work with community partners to inspire and equip people across the Rugby League family to take practical climate action.  

“By connecting climate action to everyday life through the power of our sport, we can bring communities together and show that small changes really can add up to a big impact.  

“The activation at Leeds Rhinos Foundation’s Rhinos Challenge forms an important part of the growing momentum behind the programme, with further announcements, activations and community engagement opportunities to come as Try for Tomorrow develops.”