St.Helens Women's winger Dani McGifford has received her first international call-up by being selected by Wales ahead of the international fixture against England this Saturday, 2nd November, at AMT Headingley Stadium in Leeds.
The women’s international is the first part of a double header of match action in Leeds, with kick-off scheduled for 12pm. England Men will then take on Samoa in the second match of the Test Series, which England lead 1-0 following last Sunday’s victory in Wigan.
Being selected for Wales is another wonderful moment for McGifford, who only came into the sport of rugby league ahead of the 2023 season as a former heptathlon athlete.
Whilst Dani has only made four appearances in the 2024 season for the Saints, she has shone in each and boasts an impressive ten tries from those matches in the campaign. In her debut year (2023), Dani also notched up three tries in four matches, making her try to games record very impressive.
A very unexpected end to the season 🤯
Try of the year 🏆
International squad honours 🤯🏴If someone told me this a few months ago I would have laughed, so thankful for everyone that has got me here ❤️ pic.twitter.com/c17N51GHt7
— Danielle McGifford (@DaniMcGifford) October 29, 2024
McGifford will have a familiar face to assist her too, with the recently retired Saints half-back Faye Gaskin serving as the Welsh Assistant Coach to Head Coach Tom Brindle.
Meanwhile, over in the England camp St.Helens will have six of our players going against Wales with Jodie Cunningham as captain leading out the English side.
Speaking about his Wales Women’s squad, Brindle said: “Facing England is always a big game for us. We’re an ambitious team and testing ourselves against one of the world’s best is key to our long-term goals. We’re still early in our journey as an international team, and we’ve progressed each year from our modest base.
“Qualifying for the World Cup on our first attempt was a milestone but our aim is to compete at the level of the established, professionally ran teams. We showed glimpses of that last year, and Saturday gives us another great opportunity to see how far we’ve come and how close we are to closing the gap.”
Wales Women’s squad vs England Women
Leanne Burnell (Cardiff Demons), Katie Carr (Cardiff Demons), Bethan Dainton (c) (Leeds Rhinos), Lucia Davis (Cardiff Demons), Jasmine Gibbons (Cardiff Demons), Gracie Hobbs (Huddersfield Giants), Emily Hughes (London Broncos), Ffion Jenkins (Cardiff Demons), Hannah Jones (Cardiff Demons), Sara Jones (Cardiff Demons), Carys Marsh (Wigan Warriors), Dani McGifford* (St.Helens), Rhi Parker (Cardiff Demons), Ashlea Prescott (Featherstone Rovers), Amy Price (Cardiff Demons), Georgia Taylor (York Valkyrie), Meg Whittaker (Cardiff Demons), Olivia Williams (Cardiff Demons), Agnes Wood (Sheffield Eagles). *Uncapped.
Tickets for this weekend’s England Women’s & Men’s double header in Leeds are available online via: rugby-league.com/tickets.