Amy Hardcastle (born 4 March 1989) is an English

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

player who plays at for St Helens in the Betfred Women's Super League. Born in

Halifax, West Yorkshire Halifax () is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It is the commercial, cultural and administrative centre of the borough, and the headquarters of Calderdale Council. In the 15th cen ...

, Hardcastle first played rugby league for Siddal before taking time away from the game after having her daughter. On her return Siddal had disbanded their women's team so Hardcastle joined Bradford Bulls. Over the next 10 years Hardcastle experienced considerable success as Bradford won the league title twice and the

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

once. In 2020 Hardcastle left Bradford to join St Helens but did not make her first appearance for St Helens until 2021 as the 2020 season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. In her first full season with St Helens, Hardcastle scored 23 tries in just 13 appearances. Hardcastle was first selected for the England national team in 2009 and played in both the 2013 and 2017 World Cup competitions. Hardcastle has made 19 appearances for the national side, scoring 18 tries. When the NRL named its women's team of the decade in 2020, Hardcastle was the only English player to feature in the team. Away from rugby league, Hardcastle is a

healthcare assistant Unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) are paraprofessionals who assist individuals with physical disabilities, mental impairments, and other health care needs with their activities of daily living (ADLs). UAPs also provide bedside care—includ ...

in the

accident & emergency An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pati ...

department at the

Royal Halifax Infirmary The Royal Halifax Infirmary was a hospital in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England, which opened in 1896 and closed in 2001. History Earlier hospitals The predecessors of the Royal Halifax Hospital were the Halifax Dispensary (1807-c.1836) in Hatte ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardcastle, Amy 1989 births Living people Bradford Bulls players England women's national rugby league team players English female rugby league players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Halifax, West Yorkshire St Helens Women RLFC players