Bulls assistant Francis Cummins is heading Down Under in a bid to bolster his coaching skills.

The 34-year-old will leave for a fact-finding mission to Australia on Saturday, funded by the Rugby Football League as part of their elite coaching bursary scheme.

Chosen as the first recipient of the annual award, Cummins will attend the two-day Australian Rugby League High Performance Seminar Programme and meet Australian coaches Brian Smith, Wayne Bennett, Tim Sheens and John Lang at their respective clubs.

"I am very excited about broadening my coaching education in Australia," he said.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from the very best coaches in the world and gain a full understanding of how the Australian game is developing and how that compares to Engage Super League.

"I would like to thank the RFL for funding the trip and Bulls head coach Mick Potter for allowing me to take time out of the busy pre-season schedule so I can broaden my mind and develop my coaching values."

RFL national coach development manager Martin Crick added: "We have introduced the bursary to give professional British coaches the prospect of expanding their education by learning through coaching programmes and initiatives both on a group and an individual basis to give them more experience and knowledge of the sport in a different environment.

"Francis is the first recipient of the bursary and he will be given every opportunity to broaden his education by attending the ARL High Performance coaching seminar and also observe, at close quarters, some of the best coaches in the NRL in one-to-one sessions at their respective clubs.

"Bradford Bulls head coach Mick Potter has been totally supportive of the initiative and sees the importance of this by allowing Francis to miss the club’s warm weather training camp in Lanzarote so he can gain further knowledge.

"In return for the bursary, Francis will have to provide the department with a report when he returns. We will take on board any observations or lessons he has learnt and factor those into our thinking.

"We would like to develop this at least once a year and will be inviting coaches to apply for the bursary so they can fulfil their coaching goals. This could be to enhance their knowledge through learnings from other elite sports or, similar to Francis, immerse themselves in the NRL for a short period of time."

Cummins will be accompanied on the 14-day trip by Vinny Webb, the RFL’s head of coach development.