Leeds Rhinos chief executive Gary Hetherington believes the growth of women’s rugby league will prove fundamental to the overall progression of the sport in the coming years. The Headingley giants will create history in 2023 by becoming the first British rugby league team to make matchday payments to their women’s team, a move Hetherington feels marks a significant step towards the women’s game becoming fully professional.
The Rhinos, who are the reigning Women's Super League champions, are looking to expand their women's operation and the payments will include a winning bonus for each game next season, along with meritocratic payments for success in the Challenge Cup and Grand Final competitions.
Leeds already pay their women's players for promoting the game and contribute towards their travel expenses and say the latest move is another step towards a professional women's team. Hetherington told Leeds Live: “Last year we had a three-year plan for upgrading the women’s team and year one was about improving all the services such as medical, physios, sport science and facilities.
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“We did all that quite significantly and we’re now moving onto phase two for 2023, which involves paying players win bonuses for playing in the Super League games and meritocracy payments for winning competitions. We’re looking at making some of them ambassadors as well, so this is really the next phase.
“All our games will be played at Headingley and the women’s team are an integral part of our club. We see the women’s game as a terrific development area for the sport of rugby league because women’s sport in general is flourishing. The women’s Rugby League World Cup is part and parcel of it and will certainly provide opportunities for further growth as well.
“The engagement in the women’s game by that many more people, and the awareness of it, will play a huge part. I don’t think the women’s game becoming a full-time professional sport is too far away. I believe we will get to a point whereby women, like men, can look to go into rugby league as a full-time profession.
“As a club, we’re at the elite level in terms of participation and working with the Leeds Rhinos Foundation to giving more girls opportunities to play rugby league. There are 31 community clubs in Leeds, who are all looking to grow the women’s game, so the possibilities are immense really. It’s an explosion of interest which needs to be captured by improving the standards for those players at the top end of the sport.”
A five-figure crowd is expected at Headingley tomorrow when England women’s team open their World Cup campaign against Brazil in a double-header which will also see Papua New Guinea face Canada.
“It’s certainly going to be a record for a women’s rugby game in the UK,” said Hetherington, for a game to be televised live on BBC2. “I think it’s going to be approaching 13-14,000 by the look of it and a lot of people are coming to the watch women’s rugby league for the first time. They will be seeing an England World Cup side and including a number of Leeds Rhinos players, of course, so we’re delighted to be hosting such a special occasion at Headingley.
“There have been so many significant events here over the last 132 years, including the Rugby League World Cup final in 1970, and other internationals, cup finals and prestigious club games. This is going to be another historic, milestone event for the stadium itself and will rightfully gain its place in Headingley folklore.”
Hetherington, a keen advocate of the international game, believes success for England’s team on home soil this autumn can provide a huge fillip for the sport. “We’ve always known that in any sport the international profile is enormous and reaches people who otherwise wouldn’t normally get engaged at domestic level,” he said.
“Therefore the World Cup, with all 61 games being shown on the BBC, and the success of the England men’s, women’s, wheelchair and PDRL teams is critical. IMG recognise the potential that the women’s game and the international game offers rugby league.
“They are both very much untapped. Certainly international rugby league has been here for a long time, but it has never punched above its weight. IMG see huge potential and opportunity for rugby league for a regular international programme, and the women’s game is very much part of that. They have been identified as key strategic targets by IMG.”
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