Women’s Rugby League is constantly growing across the country and also abroad, but how has the sport come this far? A day at Wigan Warriors helped shed light on the answer.
In 2025, the Wigan Warriors Women’s rugby league team enjoyed their most successful season in history, winning multiple major honours.
They took home the Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup, the Betfred Women’s Super League Grand Final, the League Leaders’ Shield and the Women’s Nines Title.
Following a historic season in which they won every available trophy, Georgia Wilson walked us through the growth of Women’s Rugby League in England, the impact on the players and her aspirations for the sport moving forward.
The evolution of the sport
Wilson is one of the most senior players in the current squad and became Wigan’s first double Grand Final winner in the eight years she’s been at the club.
She said: “Some of the girls played rugby before and had to pay subs to be able to play.
“Now everything is different, everything is provided for us, and it’s a massive jump from when I started.
“We’ve got medical insurance, healthcare, meals at training, really good staff and have started to get more money for massages, new boots and the meal preps we need.”
When asked about the impact on the Youth teams, she said that there were no girls’ teams when she was growing up.
Today, most clubs she works with and has spoken to have up to five girls’ teams per club.
She added: “There’s a load of competition around here and if we (the club) keep supporting them, it will keep on growing.”
Inclusion of teams abroad
There are currently eight teams in the Women’s Super League table as opposed to fourteen for the men.
The first French club to join the Men’s Super League were the Catalan Dragons back in 2006, and have continuously competed in every season since then.
Their French counterparts, Toulouse Olympique, have recently gained promotion and will join them in the 2026 season.
That will bring the number of French teams up to two- something the women haven’t yet benefited from.
When asked if this could be something of interest for the women, Wilson said: “Yes, definitely.
“Former coach of the England women’s team and York, Lindsay Anfield, joined Catalans Goddesses.
“That’s one step in the right direction.
“They’re coming over to play in the Nines competition this year.
“We did it a couple of years ago, and that’s great for them to get that experience.
“Hopefully, in the next couple of years, they’ll be in the Super League.”
The importance of the club’s culture
Wigan Warriors aren’t just focused on their performance on the pitch, but also on the importance of family values and their connection with the local community.
Wilson said: “It’s nice to come in as an outsider and learn about the culture of the town and how everyone is close here.
“We do a lot of work with the foundations, but also family events.
“We’re always involved, and you feel like one big family at Wigan.”
The club has recently announced their new kit for the Women’s team, and the design was made with clear intentions in mind.
“We turned towards the blue and pink, and some people will think that’s ‘girly’.
“But that’s who we want to target: the younger girls and younger generations who aspire to play in our team and one day put on a shirt that we designed.”
Ambitions for the future
But despite this growth, being paid full-time as a semi-pro or pro as a Woman remains an issue.
“Everyone at the club has their own personal goals.
“Over in Australia, in the NRWL (Australia women’s national rugby league team), it’s their full-time job.
“I’m one of the senior members of the team now, and a lot of the women want to go to Australia.
“We want to get to the point where we’re paying the girls semi-pro and full-time so they don’t have to aspire to move across to the other side of the world.
“I believe in the sport and the club; they will continue to support the women.”
Click here to see an extract from my interview with Wilson:
(Featured image by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images under Creative Commons Licence)
