Get to know St Helens second row and former England captain Emily Rudge as she tackles our 20 Questions.

1 What is your favourite thing about being involved in rugby league?

I just love being part of a team, being around the girls and the experiences it gives me. It’s part of my identity and I love how it makes me feel.

It empowers me, it makes me feel strong and powerful, and I love getting out on the pitch.

I just love the whole thing.

2 How are you all feeling ahead of the 2026 season?

Really good. We’ve had a very long pre-season, we’ve been training since November, so we’re just excited for it to really get going.

We’ve got a new strength and conditioning coach, so we should be fitter, faster and stronger than we ever have been before.

3 It must have been frustrating last year to finish without any silverware for the first time since 2019, but you must feel confident of bouncing back and bringing a trophy home this year?

The goal this year is definitely to win some silverware.

It was neck and neck for the League Leaders’ Shield last year and the Grand Final was really close as well, so it did feel like we just fell short at each of those hurdles. But we’ll be there again this year and hopefully turn it around.

4 As a player you’ve had all that success with Saints, but you’ve been there with England as well. What was it like that first time you ran out there as captain of England?

It was amazing, just unreal. It was an incredible opportunity and I just felt so honoured and privileged to have been able to do that in my career.

It’s a real honour to play for England, but to captain the side is just incredible.

It’s something I’ll always look back on and treasure.

5 Is it still a hope to be back in that England squad for the World Cup at the end of this year?

My focus is just to play well for Saints, have a really good season with them and win some silverware.

But who doesn’t want to go to the World Cup? If I have a great season and then get that opportunity that would be incredible.

But that’s not really my main focus right now. I’ve not been with the squad for a bit now so I do feel a little bit out of it, but I’ll see how I get on this season and then maybe, later in the year, that might be more of a focus for me.

6 When you first started playing could you ever have imagined the game would be where it is now and you would have achieved everything you have in it?

Absolutely not. I didn’t ever think that we’d be playing at the same stadiums as the men, playing at Wembley or getting paid to play.

It’s just taken so many steps in the right direction and I hope that continues.

7 You’ve known Jodie Cunningham forever. Can you remember the first time you met and became friends?

Yeah, we met in year seven at Cardinal Newman High School in Warrington. We were in a lot of the same classes, so we became friends. I’d started playing rugby for the school, but Jodie was more into netball and athletics. She got into rugby as well and from there our friendship has just been super close and we’ve played for every team together.

8 There were a few female rugby league players taking part in the latest series of Gladiators – is that something you’d be tempted to have a go at?

I’ve never thought about it, but you know me – I love the media and that sort of stuff, so if there was an opportunity I might think about it.

But to be honest, out of the two of us, I think Jodie would be far better suited to Gladiators than me.

I used to love it as a kid, but she once dressed up and told everybody she was the daughter of Lightning, and people believed her.

9 Who is the toughest opponent you’ve come up against in your career?

That’s a hard question. I’d probably say a couple of the girls that played for England when I first started playing. Players like Andrea Dobson, Emma Slowe and Beth Sutcliffe — they were really tough opponents because I was facing them as a 16–17-year-old and they were at the peak of their career and really physical.

10 What’s been the greatest moment of your career so far?

Winning at Wembley for the first time. I never thought that we would get the opportunity to do that. So to win there and be the first women’s team to win at Wembley was an incredible moment for everyone.

11 Do you have any game day superstitions?

No. I can be superstitious at times, but when I first started playing I said, ‘no, I will not become superstitious with games’ because I didn’t want to be a slave to it every week.

I do still sometimes start to think ‘would this be lucky to keep the same thing’, but I just tell myself no.

I don’t want anything to become a thing where it takes over and that I’m too focused on — I just want to focus on the game.

12 What’s the one thing that really annoys you more than anything else?

When people comment on how much food I’m eating.

I can eat a lot of food, especially with as much training as we do, so when people, who don’t know me, see me with a full plate of food and they’re like, ‘you’re not gonna eat all that are you?’, I’m like, ‘you know what? Yeah, I am’.

When you’re an athlete and focus on your nutrition, you do need to eat a lot and eat certain things. So when other people who haven’t got a clue about that comment on what I’m eating, it’s really annoying.

13 What hobbies do you have outside of the game?

I love to do lots of things. I love craft activities and being creative. I think that’s why I like social media so much – it brings out the creative side of me.

I also love travelling. Over the last couple of years, me and my boyfriend have travelled a lot and when I finish playing, that’s definitely something that I want to do more of. I’d love to go to Canada and Thailand, so they’re the next two trips that I’d really like to do.

14 What is the one thing that you couldn’t live without?

I’d probably have to say my family. I really do rely on them, I see them a lot and I ring them every day – so my mum, dad, sister and boyfriend.

15 Who is the best musician or band you’ve seen live?

I’ve not actually been to that many concerts, but the first ever concert I went to was The Pussycat Dolls – me and Jodie went to that one.

But it is on my bucket list to go and see Sabrina Carpenter. I love her and I think she’s touring this year or next year, so I definitely want to go and see her.

16 Is there a go-to song or artist on your playlist?

I am never in charge of the music. It’s usually Channy that’s in charge of that — especially before a game — and I’ll just happily go with what she plays. It’s a lot of throwback R&B usually, and I love that stuff.

17 Where’s the most interesting place you’ve travelled to?

When we went to Papua New Guinea with England in 2019 it was just incredible. We got the chance to go to Goroka, in the Highlands, which is somewhere that tourists cannot go. So to get the opportunity to go there and see that part of the world through rugby was incredible.

18 Do you have any hidden talents?

I really love dancing and I have already told Jodie that when I finish playing I want to join an adult dance group.

I also love performing, so I could definitely see myself doing dance, theatre and amateur dramatics. I don’t know if that’s a talent, though.

19 What is your favourite film?

I love romantic comedies, so I love Pretty Woman, Legally Blonde — really just those girly chick flicks.

20 Is there a star from any other sport that you particularly look up to and admire?

I really love athletics — especially watching the women smash it.

I have recently started to follow Keely Hodgkinson, the 800-metre runner — she’s great — but I definitely look up to a lot of other female athletes who are just smashing it in their own sport.

First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 520 (May 2026)