Haringey Rhinos De’Shaun Elliot was named Mitsubishi Motors Volunteer of the Year at a special dinner hosted by the RFU at Twickenham Stadium.

The event was held to honour grassroots rugby volunteers across the country and Elliot, who joined Haringey as a junior aged 14, picked up the award for his outstanding contribution to the club’s coaching programme.

Elliot now coaches the under-15 girls’ side, while also taking responsibility for the club’s inclusivity programme, which delivers sessions to more than 60 young people with learning disabilities across the Haringey area.

His dedication, hard work and passion for the game has enabled more people to get involved in rugby which resulted in a nomination for the Mitsubishi Motors Volunteer Recognition programme, an initiative designed to give rugby communities the opportunity to recognise those who give so much to the grassroots game.

Elliot attended the regional event earlier this year, also at Twickenham Stadium, and was announced as one of two finalists. He was selected from over 1,500 nominations across the country as one of four overall winners and will now be able to select a Mitsubishi vehicle of his choice to drive for the year.

Lance Bradley, managing director of Mitsubishi Motors in the UK, said: “Volunteers are such a vital part of the game. The amount of work they put in to the day-to-day running of their clubs is invaluable and these awards give us the opportunity to recognise the hard work they do.

“It’s volunteers like De’Shaun who make the game what it is and it is an honour to be able to name him as one of our Volunteer of the Year winners.”

A delighted Elliot added: “It’s fantastic to see these kinds of events being put on to recognise and reward volunteers for the hard work they do. It has been an honour to attend this dinner and a pleasure to accept this award on behalf of all volunteers who dedicate their time to making rugby great.”

For more information on how to get involved with the Mitsubishi Motors Volunteer Recognition Programme visitenglandrugby.com/my-rugby/volunteers/recognition.