The England women's national Rugby League team represents England in Women's Rugby League. They are administered by the Rugby Football League.

History

Early years

Women's Rugby League was originally established in 1985 through the Women's Amateur Rugby League Association, with the Great Britain National Team playing for the first time in the year

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

. From 2007 onwards, England has competed on the international stage, playing in the 2008, 2013, 2017 and 2021 Women's Rugby League World Cups.

2008 World Cup

The 2008 Women's Rugby League World Cup was the third staging of the tournament and the first time England had competed as a nation. The tournament was held in Australia from 26 October and England were in a pool with Russia, France and Australia. England beat France and Russia in the group stages, losing to Australia, to finish second in the group and qualify for the semi-finals. England were beaten by eventual winners New Zealand at the semi-final stage, as they beat Australia 34–0. England beat the Pacific Islands in the third-placed play-off match.

2013 World Cup

The 2013 Women's Rugby League World Cup was held in Great Britain from 26 October and featured Australia, England, France and New Zealand. England's 24-player squad featured players from Bradford, Coventry, Crosfields, Featherstone, Normanton and Thatto Heath. In the Round Robin format, England suffered a 14–6 defeat to Australia at the Tetley's Stadium, Dewsbury, on Friday, 5 July, before going down 34–16 to New Zealand on Monday, 8 July at Featherstone Rovers’ Post Office Road. A 42–4 win over France followed in the final round on 11 July at the Fox's Biscuits Stadium, Batley, before a record 54–0 win over France in the third-place play-off at the South Leeds Stadium, Hunslet.

2017 World Cup

The 2017 Women's Rugby League World Cup was the fifth staging of the competition, held in Australia between 16 November and 2 December. England took part alongside Australia, Canada, Cook Islands, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea and all group matches were played at the Southern Cross Group Stadium, home of Cronulla Sharks. England were placed in Group A alongside Australia and the Cook Islands and took on Papua New Guinea in an inter-group match. Their first 2017 Women's Rugby League World Cup match resulted in a 38–0 defeat to Australia on 19 November, before a shock 22–16 defeat to the Cook Islands on 22 November. England were 16–0 down at half time, but Emma Slowe, Amy Hardcastle and Kayleigh Bulman scored for England in the second half, Claire Garner kicking two goals, to make it 16-all, before a late Cook Islands try. England secured their progress to the semi-finals on points difference from the Cooks thanks to a 36–8 win over Papua New Guinea on 16 November. Tries from Charlotte Booth (2), Shona Hoyle, Amy Hardcastle, Tara-Jane Stanley, who kicked four goals, Danielle Bound and Beth Sutcliffe were enough to secure the win. The semi-final saw England beaten 52–4 by New Zealand on 26 November at Southern Cross Group Stadium, despite a first-half Tara-Jane Stanley try. Australia would go on to win the final 23–16 on 2 December at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane.

2021 World Cup

2026 World Cup

Games preparing for the 2026 World Cup saw a new selection process implemented. Regional training occurred in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

and

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

with head coach, Stuart Barlow, selecting

and

squads before playing an Origin fixture. Performances in these training sessions and match would determine national squad selection.

Coaches

Head coach

Last updated: 2 March 2025.

Nines Matches

Players

Squad for the Test Match against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

on 1 March 2025. The intended line-up was announced on 28 February. Players' ages are as at the date that the table was last updated, 2 March 2025. Tallies in the table include the 1 March 2025 match against

Records

Team

* Biggest win: England 82–0 Wales , 2 November 2024 – Women's Rugby League international,

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. * Biggest defeat: Australia 90–4 England , 1 March 2025 – Las Vegas

Individual

* Most tries: Amy Hardcastle - 30, Tara-Jane Stanley - 17, Emily Rudge - 17, Joanne Watmore - 13, Natalie Gilmour MBE - 13, Jodie Cunningham - 10, Leah Burke - 10. * Most tries in a match: Anna Davies - 5 vs , at

, 2 November 2024. * Most points: Tara-Jane Stanley 218, Natalie Gilmour - (at least) 114, Amy Hardcastle 120.

Notes

World Cup

World Cup appearances

Source
England Women (World Cup) at Rugby League Record Keepers Club

Competitive record

Head-to-head records

Notes: * Table last updated 2 March 2025 (after the Test Match against Australia in Las Vegas) * Share is the portion of "For" points compared to the sum of "For" and "Against" points.

Results

Full internationals

Upcoming fixtures

* in October and or November 2025, to complete the 2025 Ashes Test Series that began with the match in Las Vegas.

Nines

IRL Rankings

Knights

On 26 July 2022, a women's knights (England reserve team) team was officially launched. The team is managed by

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home games at Headingley Rugby Stadium, AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium and compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby lea ...

head coach Lois Forsell. The team called up a performance squad to training camps in 2023 and 2024. In 2019, an England reserve side called "England Lions" played

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, losing 20–24, while the senior side was on tour against

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

References

External links

* {{national sports teams of England Women's national rugby league teams