Richard Agar: The Leeds Rhinos head coach is stepping down from his role

Leeds have won the Challenge Cup four times since the start of the summer era in 1996

Richard Agar has stepped down as Leeds Rhinos head coach after winning their first six Super League games.

The 50-year-old took over in 2019 and led the Rhinos to the 2020 Challenge Cup, their first title win since 2017.

However, due to their poor start to the season following high-profile recruitment of players such as Blake Austin and Aiden Sezer, Agar resigned.

Assistant coach Jamie Jones-Buchanan is temporarily taking over Saturday’s Challenge Cup duel against Castleford.

Leeds have confirmed Agar will remain at Headingley in a role to be specified.

Since initially replacing former player David Furner on an interim basis, Agar has kept Leeds on their toes, guided them to the play-offs twice and won the Challenge Cup by beating Salford.

The 2022 season began on optimism amid the arrival of imports like Austin, Sezer, James Bentley and David Fusitu’a, but after a narrow opening-round loss to Warrington, injuries and suspensions have kept key players away.

They were beaten well by Wigan, beaten in a mixed game by the Catalans and lost to Hull FC and Salford after their only win against Wakefield – the latter conceding three counter attempts in the last 12 minutes.

“We all care about the club and the players,” Agar told ` Radio Leeds. “This group of players gave me one of the best days of my life at Wembley and I will cherish those friendships but the reality is I just don’t feel I had the impact on the squad that was required at that point.

“We’ve had four pre-season games and six Super League games and I don’t see a significant enough change in the squad in my opinion – because I still think it’s a pretty good squad.”

Rhinos Chief Executive Gary Hetherington added: “We are planning to appoint a new head coach and will be using a comprehensive recruitment process, but there is no set timeline for this appointment.

“Usually with teams in this position, it’s easy to identify the causes of a drop in form like this, but in our case it’s difficult to resolve.

“The team’s preparation has been good every week, the spirit within the group has been strong throughout and our coaches and support staff have worked tirelessly to provide excellent support for our players.”