At 33, with a wealth of club and international experience behind her, you could be forgiven for assuming Amy Hardcastle would now be in reflective mode and looking to wind down here career.
Far from it. In fact, the English centre is buzzing for the future. In the shape of her life with a home World Cup imminent, Hardcastle is revelling in the women's game enjoying more exposure, and support, than ever before. And as far as her chosen sport is concerned, she's not going anywhere.
This summer, a nation was gripped by women's football like never before, as England captured the European Championships, beating Germany in front of a sell-out crowd at Wembley. Hardcastle was one of the millions to follow their journey, and is now hoping her own national side can have a similar impact on the country.
“I follow the Lionesses and other women’s teams in sports like hockey and netball," she told Mirror Sport . "Sometimes it takes time for other sports to raise that bar - but having the exposure we are for this World Cup is something I’ve never ever seen before."
The tournament, which kicks off with the hosts playing Brazil on November 1, will run concurrently with the men's version. That's a notion which Hardcastle lauds for increasing the expectation around her own team: “It’s definitely doing more (the World Cup) than I’ve ever known in my 15 years of representing England. I’ve never known anything like it in terms of exposure and having these opportunities to speak about it."
It isn't just fans and media building the frenzy though. To say Hardcastle herself was ready would amount to a ludicrous understatement: “I’m excited, it’s getting closer now," she said. "I’m feeling in the best shape I’ve ever been I’ve ever been in my rugby career and it’s great that it’s all around the corner."
It will be a third World Cup for the Reign Total Body Fuel athlete, but not necessarily her last: “At 33, I was potentially thinking about starting a family but I’m the fittest, strongest and fastest I’ve ever been," she insisted. "I’m 34 in March and now thinking I don’t want to give up. All I can do is give it absolutely everything, enjoy playing rugby, and whatever Is round the corner is round the corner. I’m on a journey and just got to take the opportunities that come."
The inaugural women's World Cup was won by New Zealand in 2003. They proceeded to retain their title twice more, before Australia prevailed in both 2013 and 2017. So what makes Hardcastle thinks the Southern hemisphere stranglehold can be broken this autumn?
“We don’t have to travel so that takes all the exhaustion away that comes with traveling away from home. We’re used to the English weather and the overseas players aren’t. That can be a massive aspect," said the 19-cap international.
“I feel like we’ve got a head start. We’ve been playing at some of these iconic grounds as well so we are used to the pitches whereas in other years we never had opportunities to like that. But we’ve been in those environments now. It’s at home, we’ve got the country behind us. I’ve got the got the belief we will get to that final and we will walk out at Old Trafford.”
Hardcastle, who in 2020 was the only player to feature when the NRL named it's women's team of the decade, combines her rugby league career with a full-time job in the NHS. But with investment in the game increasing, she thinks the time when a female player doesn't have to combine the game with an outside job is nearing closer.
And it heartens her to see young girls now harbouring ambitions to play rugby league for their country, a far cry from how she "fell into it" when she was 18: “At games now, seeing families and young girls there having your names on their tops and asking you to sign shirts and balls is incredible. We are actually inspiring and being role models to these younger girls. It’s come since they’ve pushed the World Cup and it’s got us on the map really.”
Hardcastle, who credits her move to St Helens in 2020 for improving the technical side of her game, has of course long been on the map for those in the know. And don't bank on her coming off it anytime soon.
