With equal participation fees to the men, prize money for the first time and a mainstream platform, this year’s Rugby League World Cup represents a seminal moment for the women’s game. And if it is Emily Rudge and her England teammates lifting the trophy this autumn, there will be one group of women watching on with particular pride at how far the game has come since they took a leap into the unknown 26 years ago.
Rudge, the captain, and the leading female players will go into camp and be treated like professionals this autumn, just as they have been in the run-up to Saturday’s friendly against France. Warrington-born Rudge will helm an England side that kickstart a double-header at her hometown’s Halliwell Jones Stadium, followed by the men’s team taking on a combined nations all-star squad. The preparations for a groundbreaking tour in 1996 could hardly have been more different.
