Fourteen years after making her World Cup debut as a 16-year-old in Australia, England captain Emily Rudge is relishing an unprecedented opportunity for women’s rugby league when the home tournament kicks off with a double-header at Headingley next week.
The negligible levels of interest that greeted England’s trip Down Under in 2008 are a far cry from the revolution gripping the domestic game, with an expanded Women’s Super League and a first match against Brazil that is set for a record women’s rugby crowd of over 16,000.
