The Rugby League World Cup might be coming to the UK later this month but Bradford Bulls coach Dr Kevin Till is working to ensure England will bid for glory beyond 2013.

With home advantage on their side, Steve McNam-ara’s side get their World Cup assault underway against Australia on October 26 with realistic hope of lifting the trophy for the first time.

And while the Bulls might not have any representation in the England squad this time around, head of academy strength and conditioning Till is working hard to make sure this changes in the future.

He helped kick off new RFL coaching programme ‘Embed the Pathway’, supported by Gillette, at World Cup venue Leigh Sports Village.

The project is aimed at the development of players aged 12-16, looking specifically at youth coach education, curriculum delivery and player profiling.

More than 60 youth coaches were treated to workshops, led by RFL national player development manager and Scotland assistant coach Dave Rotheram.

Youngsters from Wigan St Judes were also put through their paces to demonstrate to coaches how to properly take a session, with Till running the participants through a movement skills and profiling class.

“Strength and conditioning is very important for rugby league,” he said.

“Players need to be fast, strong, agile and be able to do that for the full 80 minutes and repeat their actions, so the physical aspect of the sport is very important.

“I hope the coaches take away the importance of movement skills for rugby league and how that applies to both the technical and physical elements of the game.

“And I hope that some of the coaches will be able to start implementing some of the practices within their coaching to help develop players. I certainly will in the Bradford area.

“I work with Bradford Bulls academy in their strength and conditioning department so we work with players from under-15s to under-19s.

“It’s working with youth players and trying to improve them from a physical perspective and make them better players in the process.”

Till is adamant the session could not have been better timed with the Rugby League World Cup hopefully opening more eyes to the sport moving forward.

“It’s very exciting that this event is coinciding with the start of the World Cup and the two go hand in hand really,” he added.

“Hopefully we’ll see a successful campaign for the England team. I think we’ve got a good chance, it’s an exciting squad on paper with some good forwards and some exciting backs.

“But this new coaching programme is all about the future and ensuring success further down the line and hopefully Bradford can play a big part in that.”

* Gillette’s partnership with the RFL and its investment in the RFL coaching programme is part of The Great Start Programme which aims to celebrate and encourage the coaches who will inspire the next generation. For more information visit facebook.co.uk/GilletteUK.