As more and more women’s rugby league players become household names, the search is on for those who are destined to become the stars of the future.
JODIE Cunningham, Amy Hardcastle and Victoria Molyneux…. all current legends in women’s rugby league.
But they are also among a group of long-term players entering the latter stages of their careers. How many more years they’ll be playing, nobody knows, but one thing is for certain: when they do leave the game, they will be handing over the reins to the next batch of players ready to be the leading lights in this ever-growing area of the sport.
Take one look at the names in Stuart Barrow’s last two England squads, and their performances against France and Wales, and you will see a huge amount of talent emerging. The future of women’s rugby league certainly looks to be in safe hands.
All the leading clubs have contributed to this, with a number of them producing their own players through an Academy system, with many graduates from all those sides making first-team appearances across Super League in 2024.
One club in particular that has succeeded in this is Wigan Warriors, with teenage stars such as Isabel Rowe, Eva Hunter, Jenna Foubister and Grace Banks proving themselves as integral parts of Denis Betts’ side this year.
Rowe featured in both of this season’s England test matches, while Hunter and Foubister were named in the 20-player squad for Wales in November but did not make the match-day selection.
One person who knows more than most the value of developing the next generation of players is Wigan’s utility player and women & girls development manager Georgia Wilson, who returned to the club earlier this year after trying her hand in Australia.
“There are a lot more younger girls in the side now than when I left at the end of 2022, so it’s a different-looking squad, but I have been impressed with them all,” Wilson, who featured for Wigan as they won the Women’s Nines in July, told Rugby League World.
“It’s so good to see the younger players coming through and see the pathway we have in place at the club.
“Some of them have come into the squad at 17 years old and yet we have a spine that is really connected. Our nine isn’t set in stone yet, but we have Grace at fullback and then Izzy (Rowe) and Jenna in the halves. To have those three as key players and to have that consistency with them, is a great way for them to show how confident they are. And when they are feeling confident and happy they play their best rugby.
“One big thing with Denis is that if players are training hard enough, he will give everyone an opportunity to show what they can do. He never doubts anyone either, he has faith in what we can all do. He believes in the future and we’ve just got to keep pushing that because we have so much potential to have a really successful team.
“Yes, they are young girls, and with that comes inexperience, but they’ve had a year now of playing games on Sky and at the stadium. They can take lessons from that and move forward into next season.
“As senior players, we want to try and set a platform and pave the way for them, so to see the growth in the women’s game recently has been pretty special.
“We’ve really developed at Wigan too and beating York this year was a big milestone for us, as was winning the Nines. I know it’s not as important as the Challenge Cup or the Grand Final, but it was a big stepping stone for us to look at our success and where we can go from here.”
Having been part of the inaugural Wigan squad that won the 2018 Grand Final, Wilson made her second debut for the club in a 40-4 win over Warrington Wolves in May after spending the early part of the year playing for Norths Devils in Brisbane.
When no further opportunities on the other side of the world materialised for her, Wilson decided to head home, and there was only one place that was ever going to be.
“When I first went out there in 2023 I signed for South Logan Magpies in the BMD Competition in Queensland to try to get an NRLW contract,” continued Wilson.
“When that season finished (before the NRLW started) I had a few conversations with some NRLW coaches but I just wasn’t quite ready for it. I stayed out there anyway and played a bit of rugby union, which I don’t enjoy as much and came back over to Wigan in October.
“I spoke to Denis at the start of this year and said I would love to stay at Wigan but felt the only way I was going to challenge myself was if I gave it another go out in Australia, so I went back and joined the Devils.
“Again there was nothing really for me at the end of that season unless I made another big move to Sydney. I didn’t want to do that so I got back in touch with Denis to see if there was any space in the squad for me because I just wanted to play rugby league.
“He said there was so I came back.
“I have family in Brisbane so that made it a bit easier to make the move and give it a go out there and I can’t thank them enough for taking me in.
“But there was only ever going to be one Super League club for me at that was Wigan. They have taught me everything I know since starting with them in 2018 and I love being back at the club and playing under Denis.”
Having scored three times in 11 games since her return, Wilson took the first steps back into the international set-up when she was selected in the wider England squad that was then split into two camps as Yorkshire took on Lancashire at Oldham’s Boundary Park.
She didn’t then go on to make Barrow’s squad to face Wales at Headingley, and while she has not ruled out a further return to international action, her focus remains on doing a job on the field for Wigan.
“Playing for my country in a sport that I love was something I always dreamt of as a kid, so I’d never turn down any further chances to do that,” added Wilson, who after featuring in the World Nines in 2019, made her full England debut against Wales in June 2022, before earning a second against Canada in the World Cup later that year.
“I have had some pretty positive conversations with Stu (Barrow) and I have told him that I just want to keep playing good rugby and I’ll only do that by enjoying it.
“I don’t want to put pressure on myself and if I focused too much on England that would happen and that’s where my game would fall off a bit.
“It was good to be back involved with the England girls for that Origin game, but I am just going to keep working hard and playing well like I did before the World Cup. If I do that, a call-up might come, but at the moment I am not in any rush to put the pressure on.”
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 503 (December 2024)
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