WIGAN WARRIORS coach Denis Betts was delighted to see Lucie Sams being given the chance to represent her country as England competed in the World Cup.
Twenty-year-old forward Sams was one of nine Wigan players selected in Stuart Barrow’s England squad to fly to Australia for the tournament and was handed a debut off the bench in the group-stage defeat to the Jillaroos.
After impressing in difficult circumstances in that game, Sams retained her place for Friday’s winner-takes-all clash against Samoa, and once again did not look out of place in the loss.
Sams progressed through Wigan’s academy structure before joining St Helens for the 2023 season, but she made just five first-team appearances that season, before returning to the Warriors midway through the 2025 season and becoming a regular in Betts’ side during the most recent campaign.
“Lucie worked really hard throughout the year to get the call up for England,” said Betts, who was delighted to see the young forward get some wider recognition in the game.
“The standards she needed to reach to achieve that is something we have always talked about, so I am really pleased she was given her chance at the World Cup.
“She has got great foot speed, she’s really aggressive and I saw the potential for her to be an international player when I brought her back to the club, and now she is.
“She has got so much more to her game than we’ve already seen as well. She’s got a really good offload, a great passing game and is really good with ball in hand, and even at Wigan we’ve not seen that to the full yet.”
