From Thatto Heath youngsters to St Helens legends and England internationals, Jodie Cunningham and Emily Rudge have shared every major step of their rugby league journeys. Now they are preparing to retire from the game together.
BEST friends, team-mates, champions! There is little Jodie Cunningham and Emily Rudge have achieved in their careers without having the other by their side.
Moving through the ranks at Thatto Heath – together. St Helens’ inaugural Super League season – together. The 2021 treble-winning campaign – together. First women to win at Wembley – together. England caps and World Cups – together.
So it is perhaps no surprise then that they are also taking the next stage of their careers together, with the pair announcing that 2026 will be their last in the game as retirement beckons for two of the shining stars and leading names in the women’s game.
“All good things come to an end, and this just feels like the right year to finish,” said Cunningham.
“Rugby League has been my life since I first picked up a ball at the age of 13, and it has shaped the person that I am today.
“I don’t think I would have done as much as I have in the game without Emily next to me, because when I have a tough day, she pulls me up, and I’d like to think I do the same for her. We’ve always pulled each other along when we’ve found times tough, and we just bring the best out in each other.
“I just feel really lucky that we’ve managed to go through our careers together, so it just feels something of a full-circle moment for Emily and me to go out together. I really couldn’t imagine carrying on without her.”
And Rudge feels exactly the same.
“At every stage of our careers we’ve been together, so it seemed just right that we also would finish together,” added Rudge.
“I’m so glad that we’re finishing together, so it is a big year for us in that sense, but we’ve still got more work to do, so we’ll be giving it our best this year.”
The news was announced just days before they ran out at Wembley for the fourth time in as many years, and while the 54-6 defeat to Wigan was not the way either Cunningham or Rudge wanted to bring the curtain down on their Challenge Cup journey, the disappointment from that day just makes them more determined to bounce back and get their hands on at least one of the two remaining trophies available this season.
And a repeat of last year’s desire and response, plus the mid-season split, could see them do that.
Just weeks after a similar 42-6 defeat to Wigan at Wembley 12 months ago, Saints became the first side to take any points from the Warriors with a 22-22 draw at Robin Park Arena.
Saints then only missed out on the League Leaders’ Shield to Wigan by a single point, with the decider between the two ending in a 24-20 Wigan victory.
The two sides met again in the Grand Final, with Saints only narrowly missing out once again, losing 16-12, proving that they were not as far behind Wigan as that Cup Final suggested and giving them the confidence that they can turn those narrow defeats around in 2026.
“When we lost at Wembley last year, we knew we had another chance to come back and fix things up, but we don’t have that chance again, and that does make this year’s defeat hard to take, because that chapter is over now,“ continued Rudge.
“But we did manage to fix things up and become more competitive against Wigan, so hopefully we can do that again.
“The goal for this season has always been to win a trophy, and I know that we are good enough to do that.
“I think the mid-season split will help with that because when you have competitive games, week in, week out, it does better prepare you better for those big moments.
“Hopefully we can get some momentum off the back of a run of really tough games and take a lot of confidence into the big matches at the end of the year.”
Cunningham is just as eager for success over the rest of 2026, but knows things in sport don’t always go to plan, adding: “We want to go out on a high – that’s the fairytale.
“I know Wembley didn’t go to plan, but we’ve still got loads to give. We’re training really hard, and we’ll still be giving everything we’ve got out on the pitch.
“Hopefully that results in a trophy at the end of the year, but there are no guarantees in sport.”
When Cunningham and Rudge do hang up their boots for good, it will certainly be the end of an era, as between them, they have been instrumental in growing the game from being played in local parks to where it is now. Their names have been etched in history, and they will leave a lasting legacy for future generations.
“The game now is worlds apart from where it was when we started playing, and even from when Super League started,” added Cunningham.
“The standard, the strength in depth, the athleticism, the number of girls playing – all of it – is just so much better than it ever has been.
“There are so many talented girls out there now that are lighting up the competition and are going to take the game to the next level.
“If I can sit with my feet up, having a pint and watching those girls perform next year and think that I have played even a small part in that, then that will be amazing.”
“There are not many players left in today’s game who were there when we were playing at community clubs with four people on the sidelines,“ added Rudge.
“So to have experienced that at the start of our career, and to now be experiencing it at Wembley, I do feel very honoured and privileged to have been able to see the growth of the game.
“I’m really proud to have been a part of that journey, but as for leaving a legacy, it’s weird to think that about yourself. But now that the games are being televised and we’re playing in big stadiums, younger girls are more aware of the game.
“And I do think that it’s an amazing thing that they can see us performing on that sort of stage and know that they can do it themselves when they get older.
“That is something we didn’t really have when we were younger, so I do feel very proud that we’ve been able to be a part of that change.”
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 522 (July 2026)