WHAT’S next for women’s rugby league in England?
That was the big question being asked after an otherwise successful, enjoyable and enthralling weekend in Las Vegas.
Two entertaining NRL games, plus seeing Wigan Warriors put on a show of fast-paced and expansive rugby, all mixed together with the glitz and razzmatazz that Sin City has to offer should have been enough to leave everyone talking about a great weekend of rugby league.
But it was England’s 90-4 defeat at the hands of the Jillaroos in the women’s international that stole all the headlines – and not for the right reasons.
As an advocate of the women’s game, I admit to feeling a whole range of emotions at the final score. I was gutted because, having spoken to many of the players throughout the winter, I know how hard they worked to prepare for the trip. They gave it their all, and to know that simply wasn’t good enough was gut-wrenching for me, so I can only imagine how much worse it was for them.
I was also both sad and angry that so much of the work that has been put in, a lot of it by volunteers, to get the game to where it is now, was partially undone over one 70-minute period.
However, after those initial feelings subsided, I realised that we can now use this disappointment as a clean slate and almost start over, but from a better footing than we did all those years ago when a concerted effort was first made to develop the women’s game and Super League was formed.
If the powers that be are serious in their claims that they want to close the gap between our game and that in the southern hemisphere, then the only option is to allow our players to be full-time professional athletes. And they need to do that soon.
Yes, some of the top clubs do currently pay their players, but in reality, most of those payments cover little more than expenses with a small bonus for playing. It’s certainly not enough to allow players to call rugby league their full-time job and dedicate themselves to it fully.
How about taking a completely fresh approach and prioritising the international game and then using that to further develop the domestic game and nurture the next generation of players?
Select 20 to 25 key players who will form the backbone of an England side for years to come and give them central contracts – much like they do in cricket.
These contracted England players can then call themselves professional players and train every day to get as fit, strong and athletic as possible. Have it written into their contracts that, alongside training, they help coach the next generation of up-and-coming players. They could even spend time working with other international squads to bring them on and allow England more opportunities of meaningful matches.
But most crucially these centrally contracted players would need to be shared out equally amongst the eight Super League as a way of levelling up the competition.
Other than Hollie Mae Dodd and Georgia Roche, who are playing with NRLW clubs, the rest of the England squad that faced Australia came from the top four WSL clubs – York, St Helens, Leeds and Wigan. So it is hardly a surprise that there have been so many blowout score lines when one of these teams have come up against one of the remaining four teams.
Games like that do little to develop players on either side, but if there were top-level international stars at every one of the eight Super League clubs, every game should, in theory, be more competitive, which is one thing England coach Stuart Barrow admitted needed to happen after the Australia defeat.
With this model, and also then reverting to previous Super League structures when after each team had played each other once, they split into a top four and bottom four competition, every game throughout the season could prove competitive.
Of course, there would need to be some fluidity to these contracts, with others knowing they could still earn one if they prove themselves good enough, or even lose one if they’re proving not to be.
The biggest problem with this though is that it requires significant investment over several years. Even if that came now, we wouldn’t see the benefits of it in time for the next World Cup in 2026, and maybe not the next planned one after that in 2028. Maybe not even the one after that.
And by investment I’m not just talking cold hard cash: it’s time, it’s resources, it’s working on the cold, wet and dark nights of winter to make sure every need of our players is catered for so that they have nothing more to think about than the job in hand.
Simply relying on the players to go out there and put on a show is not enough to grow the game from the bottom up and bring us in line with Australia.
I am not naive enough to think we can click our fingers and all the cash and resources that are required will suddenly land at our feet, but we do need a long-term strategy to be put into place.
Some of the Women’s Super League clubs are starting to bring in their own investment with small things like their own playing shirts and sponsors deals etc, but in the grand scheme of things, this is simply a drop in the ocean compared to what is required.
Asking any governing body, sponsor or league for such a significant investment when they may not see any significant return for the best part of a decade at least is probably too big an ask, but without it I fear the women’s game will find itself in a vicious circle where it needs sizeable investment to develop, but without significant development, such investment remains a pipe dream.
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 507 (April 2025)
