Nick Scruton Name Nick Scruton      Era 2001 onwards Place of Birth Leeds Previous Club Churwell Chiefs ARFLC Honours England  Debut  v Wigan 20.09.02        Leeds Career : After a breakthrough season in 2006 when Nick’s performances had earned him a regular place in Tony Smith’s team, 2007 was to turn out disappointingly, when after 2 substitute appearances he was ruled out of action for the remainder of the season after suffering a broken bone in his hand against Salford. He returned in 2008 for what would be his final season at the club and left on a high with a place in the engage Super League Grand Final when the Rhinos defeated St Helens to be crowned Champions. Nick joined the Rhinos from Churwell Chiefs and proved himself to be one of the brightest prospects in the Rhinos Academy ranks, with his good footwork and a strong running style. Nick was called into the Rhinos' first team at the end of the 2002 season following a series of strong displays in the club's Academy sides during the year. Nick made his first team appearance for the Rhinos as a substitute in the 2002 season when Leeds took on Wigan and beat them 32-26. Nick then suffered a string of devastating injuries, breaking his leg in the 2002 Academy Grand Final and then a fractured scaphoid bone further hampered his progress and meant he was unable to make a single appearance for the Rhinos in 2003. He did however fight back and in 2004 made a come back to the Rhinos squad with a substitute appearance against Huddersfield at Headingley. In 2005 Nick returned to his hometown club ready to make a bid for regular first team action. With an injury free season Nick was able to force his way into the team, making 18 substitute appearances and scoring his first try for the club in the 70-0 win over SM Pia in the Cup. Last season Nick really began to show his full capability and was named in the starting line up in 7 matches and made a further 17 appearances from the bench. He scored a further two tries and his development over the season was recognised by both the Leeds coach Tony Smith, who praised the young prop for his mature performances, and the Yorkshire Evening Post readers who voted him as their Shooting Star, an honour handed out to the young player deemed to have made the biggest impact for the team. With previous winners including Danny McGuire and Rob Burrow the future looks bright for the player, who just turned 22 at the end of last year. 2006 also saw Nick help the Senior Academy to Grand Final glory over Hull. Nick made a total of 76 appearances for the Rhinos and scored 5 tries. Rugby Career : Nick started playing rugby at Churwell Chiefs ARLFC before moving to the Rhinos. He has played for Leeds & District Schools and was part of the England Academy squad also. In 2004 Nick spent the last three months of the Super League season on loan at Hull FC, where he impressed with a string of fine performances, including scoring his first try in Super League against Leeds at Headingley. Scruton is very highly thought of at Leeds and there was never any chance of him making his stay at the KC Stadium anything more than a loan spell. Scruton was in fine form for the Airlie Birds and really impressed then Hull coach Shaun McRae with his direct running and dangerous off load game but Tony Smith was fully aware of the young props potential and he returned to the club to begin preparations for the 2005 season. His impressive displays brought him to the attention of the England A selectors who included him in the squad for the European Nations Championships, coming on as a substitute in the wins over Russia, France and Ireland in the Final. He was joined in the squad by fellow Rhinos Rob Burrow and Mark Calderwood and recorded his first senior honour when he lifted the European Nations Cup at Warrington’s Halliwell Jones Stadium. In 2006 he once again joined the England team, helping them to Federation Cup success after he played in all the qualifying rounds of the tournament and the Final against Tonga. Nick left the club at the end of 2008 to join Bradford Bulls. To return to the main squad profiles page click here.