Jason Robinson admits he’s “excited” by just how far women’s rugby league can go as it continues to grow in World Cup year.
The legendary ex-Wigan and England star was back in his home city of Leeds earlier this week to mark 150 days until the start of the tournament. He visited his first club, The Hunslet Club who were recipients of almost £20,000 of National Lottery funding as part of the RLWC2021 CreatedBy Grants Programme to help them upgrade facilities.
The new Betfred Women’s Super League season got up and running this week and Robinson spent time training with some of the sport’s aspiring players in Hunslet. When Covid struck, it had a big impact, with almost all of the 2020 WSL season written off. But Lottery funding helped see the sport through that rocky period and women and girls participation in rugby league has reportedly grown by 30 per cent compared to before the pandemic.
Robinson said: “It’s great to see the stats now of how girls and women’s rugby league is just going from strength to strength. That’s why this National Lottery funding has been huge. I know it’s been huge for rugby league as when the women's game finished in the pandemic, the funding helped get it going again.
“Some of the games, like the recent women’s Betfred Challenge Cup final, shows just how much real talent there is. It’s great it’s now getting the exposure, the funding and more and more girls and women involved in the sport. It’s really exciting.
"We’ve just celebrated that it’s just 150 days until the World Cup and the fact the men's, women's and wheelchair are all on at the same time, what a showcase it will be for them to show what they can do and to inspire women to do the same thing. It’s massive for the game and we need to continue that.”
Robinson, of course, never won the World Cup in rugby league, the closest he got being losing the 1995 final against Australia at Wembley. No side from these shores has lifted the men’s trophy since Great Britain prospered in 1972. There is great hope that Shaun Wane will finally end that barren run when the tournament - alongside the women’s and wheelchair events - kicks-off here in October.
Robinson, 47, admitted: “It’s going to be a challenge. It’s the biggest tournament you’ll ever play in: playing against the best teams and best players from all over the world.
“You have to do it under a huge spotlight and on the biggest stage. It will be a huge ask for England, no doubt. Australia is a great team, New Zealand, Tonga, Samoa… and there’s a couple of newbies in there like Greece and Jamaica while for the women there's Brazil, so there’s a lot of excitement.
“It’s been put back a year so now there’s no restrictions and everyone will look forward to seeing them out there doing their thing. I can’t wait for that first game, England v Samoa in Newcastle. What an opportunity for both teams to really kick the tournament off with a bang. But I know Shaun Wane will be drilling the team. He is the man for the job. He has that experience at club level, he has that passion and he’ll have them fired so that the team will be ready to perform.”
* The National Lottery is an official partner of this year’s Rugby League World Cup. The partnership includes National Lottery players providing £750,000 of vital financial support to communities across England through the RLWC21 CreatedBy Grants Programme.
