Naomi Williams retires from Rugby League

‘Nom’ has been an integral part of the Saints Women since the start in 2018 by becoming one of the first to sign up to play for the club that she grew up as a huge fan of, as a proud resident in the town of St Helens.

St.Helens Women’s first Player of the Year following our maiden campaign, Williams has been a mainstay in the squad over the past eight years and seven seasons, with 2020’s competition cancelled due to the COVID pandemic.

Heritage Number #4 for St.Helens Women, Nom has made 95 appearances, scored 32 tries and a single goal conversion for a total points tally of 130 for the club. Her final game came last Sunday evening in the 2025 Betfred Women’s Grand Final.

The utility player has lined up in numerous positions for the Red V Women, and has been a member of the team that secured four Women’s Challenge Cup trophies in a row between 2021 and 2024, including the history-making first Final to be played at Wembley Stadium in 2023. Naomi also has the 2021 and 2024 Women’s League Leaders’ Shields, and the 2021 Women’s Super League on her record.

An England international, ‘Nom’ proudly represented England for the first time in 2018, and was part of the 2019 travelling squad that went to Australia for the Women’s Rugby League World Cup 9s tournament, also travelling to Papua New Guinea to take on the Orchids in a two-match series.

The 34-year-old will remain with the Saints in some capacity, continuing her role as an Assistant Coach in our Women’s Pathway to Performance (P2P) programme, which is about the development of female players in their final two school years (Under-16s).

Naomi Williams said: “It feels like the right time for me; at the age I am now, I would not want to be taking up someone else’s spot in the squad, especially with the talent we have got coming through.

“You only have to look at Erin [McDonald] this year; she has come on leaps and bounds, and I would never want to stand in the way of that.”

Proud to be from our town and to represent her girlhood club, Williams has felt honoured to call herself a Saints player and be part of a special group of women.

“The Saints girls are absolutely incredible. I’ve made some of the best friends I’ve ever had, and I won’t be losing any of those friendships — I’ve already told them I’ll be outside every week with a pen and paper asking for autographs.

“More than anything, I’ll miss pulling on that Red V. I’ve been a Saints fan all my life, was a season ticket holder from being thirteen, and at Knowsley Road I had ‘Roby’ on the back of my shirt.

“I never dreamt of being able to play for my country – I was lucky to be able to do that – but the real dream for me was always to play for Saints, and it has meant everything to me.”

Excited to be helping develop our future talent, Williams added: “One of my roles in the past couple of seasons has been to take young players under my wing, like Katie [Mottershead] last year and Erin [McDonald] this year, and look at how they have gone this past season; they’ve come on leaps and bounds.

“When I was a kid, we didn’t have the opportunities these younger players get now. So I just want to help them grow and be the best versions of themselves, on and off the pitch. I think it’s going to be really rewarding.”

Craig Richards, Joint Head Coach of St.Helens Women, paid tribute to Naomi Williams and said: “Thinking back to some of our first conversations, ‘Nom’ always spoke about what the shirt meant to her, how much she loves this club, and it continues to show; if she’s not selected to play, she will be there in the stands to cheer the team on.

“Everyone loves her and being around her. She has been the backbone of the team.

“It is fantastic that she will be part of our P2P programme and help the next generation push forward. From a coaching point of view, I think the sky is the limit for her.”

All at the Club would like to say thank you to Nom for her efforts as a St.Helens Women’s player, and we wish her well with the next chapter!