St Helens Women have had twelve players called up to next week's Yorkshire v Lancashire clash in Huddersfield!
Women’s NRL Grand Final-winner Georgia Roche is included in Head Coach Stuart Barrow’s England Women’s squad to prepare for the Autumn international against Wales at Headingley Stadium on Saturday week (4 November).
The 23-years-old former Leeds Rhinos stand-off and Woman of Steel has enjoyed a stellar season with Newcastle Knights in Australia’s Women’s NRL after making the move Down Under, the Knights beating Gold Coast Titans 24-18 in front of 40,000 spectators at Sydney’s Accor Stadium last month. Roche is set to return to Headingley for the first time since England’s 42-4 defeat of Papua New Guinea in last year’s Rugby League World Cup.
Another Georgia – Wigan Warriors’ 2022 Women’s Player of the Year Wilson – also returns from Australia, where she has been playing in Queensland with the South Lothian Magpies.
The remaining 39 players in the 41-strong National Performance Squad are drawn from seven Betfred Women’s Super League sides – Featherstone Rovers, Huddersfield Giants, Leeds Rhinos, St Helens, Warrington Wolves, Wigan Warriors and champions York Valkyrie.
Head Coach, Stuart Barrow, says:
“The quality of rugby on show during this year’s Betfred Women’s Super League was fantastic, so I thought it was important to give the Knights and our senior internationals an opportunity to train and play together and our fixture in Huddersfield should be great experience for everyone involved.
“Wales will pose a much different challenge to when we last faced them and I think that the progression of Cardiff Demons over the last couple of seasons proves that, so we are keeping focussed and preparing well for what’s sure to be a fantastic game.”
Two training sessions will take place across the weekend involving squads representing Lancashire and Yorkshire with both teams consisting of senior England players alongside those currently involved in the Knights.
The Lancashire and Yorkshire teams will play an Origin training game at Huddersfield YMCA next Wednesday (October 25) before Barrow names his squad to face Wales.
November’s fixture will be the seventh time that England Women have played in front of a home crowd since 2020 – evidence of the continuing development of the women’s international game since the England team played its first game in 2007.
England Women versus Wales will be part of an international double header also featuring the Third Test Match of the Men’s historic series against Tonga.
Tickets for the Headingley double-header, and for the next England Men versus Tonga fixture in Huddersfield, are on sale now at eticketing.co.uk/rugbyleague from £25 Adults and £12.50 Under 16s. Those looking to book 10 tickets or more can save 30% on single matches, with prices from £17.50 for Adults and £8.75 for under 16s – available now via the Groups Sales team at [email protected] or 0844 856 1115.
Lancashire
Emily Baggaley (Warrington Wolves), Mary Coleman (Wigan Warriors), Jodie Cunningham (St Helens), Anna Davies, Eva Hunter, Kaitlin Hilton, Molly Jones (all Wigan Warriors), Tara Jones, Katie Mottershead (both St Helens), Victoria Molyneux (Wigan Warriors), Eboni Partington, Emily Rudge, Erin Stott, Georgia Sutherland (all St Helens), Tara Jane Stanley (York Valkyrie), Amy Taylor, Paige Travis (both St Helens), Georgia Wilson (South Lothian Magpies), Megan Williams, Victoria Whitfield (both St Helens)
Yorkshire
Savannah Andrade (York Valkyrie), Amelia Brown (Huddersfield Giants), Caitlin Beevers (Leeds Rhinos), Chloe Billington (Featherstone Rovers), Jasmine Bell (York Valkyrie), Keara Bennett, Caitlin Casey, Jasmine Cudjoe, Amy Hardcastle (all Leeds Rhinos), Georgie Hetherington (York Valkyrie), Shona Hoyle (St Helens), Zoe Hornby (Leeds Rhinos), Emma Kershaw (York Valkyrie), Izzy Northrop (Leeds Rhinos), Lacey Owen, Sinead Peach, Tamzin Renouf (all York Valkyrie), Bella Sykes (Leeds Rhinos), Dannielle Waters (Featherstone Rovers), Olivia Whitehead, Olivia Wood (both York Valkyrie)
