England women's national rugby league team
The England women's national Rugby League team represents England in Women's Rugby League. They are administered by the Rugby Football League. Great Britain reached the first-ever Women's Rugby League World Cup Final in 2000, where they lost 26-4 to New Zealand.
| Team information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Nickname | England Lionesses | |
| Governing body | Rugby Football League | |
| Region | Europe | |
| RLIF ranking | 3rd | |
| Uniforms | ||
| ||
| Team results | ||
| First international | ||
 (2007) | ||
| World Cup | ||
| Appearances | 3 (first time in 2008) | |
| Best result | Semi Final, 2008, 2017 | |
Great Britain toured Australia in 2002 and took part in the 2005 World Cup. In 2006, the RFL announced that, after the 2007 All Golds Tour, the Great Britain team would no longer compete on a regular basis, and that players would be able to represent England, Wales and Scotland at Test level.
It is planned that the Great Britain team will come together in future only for occasional tours.
History
Early years
Women's Rugby League was originally established in 1985 through the Women's Amateur Rugby League Association, with the Great Britain National Team playing for the first time in the year 2000.
From 2008 onwards, England has competed on the international stage, playing in the 2008, 2013 and 2017 Women's Rugby League World Cups to date.
2008 World Cup
The 2008 Women's Rugby League World Cup was the third staging of the tournament and the first time England had competed as a nation. The tournament was held in Australia from 26 October and England were in a pool with Russia, France and Australia.
England beat France and Russia in the group stages, losing to Australia, to finish second in the group and qualify for the semi-finals. England were beaten by eventual winners New Zealand at the semi-final stage, as they beat Australia 34-0. England beat the Pacific Islands in the third-placed play-off match.
2013 World Cup
The 2013 Women's Rugby League World Cup was held in Great Britain from 26 October and featured Australia, England, France and New Zealand. England's 24-player squad featured players from Bradford, Coventry, Crosfields, Featherstone, Normanton and Thatto Heath.
In the Round Robin format, England suffered a 14-6 defeat to Australia at the Tetley's Stadium, Dewsbury, on Friday, 5 July, before going down 34-16 to New Zealand on Monday, 8 July at Featherstone Rovers’ Post Office Road.
A 42-4 win over France followed in the final round on 11 July at the Fox's Biscuits Stadium, Batley, before a record 54-0 win over France in the third-place play-off at the South Leeds Stadium, Hunslet.
Results
• Friday, 5 July 2013 - England 6-14 Australia | The Tetley's Stadium, Dewsbury, England
• Monday, 8 July 2013 - England 16-34 New Zealand | Post Office Road, Featherstone, England
• Thursday, 11 July 2013 - England 42-4 France | Fox's Biscuits Stadium, Batley, England
• Third Placed Play Off
• Saturday, 13 July 2013 England 54-0 France | South Leeds Stadium, Hunslet, England
2017 World Cup
The 2017 Women's Rugby League World Cup was the fifth staging of the competition, held in Australia between 16 November and 2 December. England took part alongside Australia, Canada, Cook Islands, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea and all group matches were played at the Southern Cross Group Stadium, home of Cronulla Sharks.
England were placed in Group A alongside Australia and the Cook Islands and took on Papua New Guinea in an inter-group match. Their first 2017 Women's Rugby League World Cup match resulted in a 38-0 defeat to Australia on 19 November, before a shock 22-16 defeat to the Cook Islands on 22 November. England were 16-0 down at half time, but Emma Slowe, Amy Hardcastle and Kayleigh Bulman scored for England in the second half, Claire Garner kicking two goals, to make it 16-all, before a late Cook Islands try. England secured their progress to the semi-finals on points difference from the Cooks thanks to a 36-8 win over Papua New Guinea on 16 November. Tries from Charlotte Booth (2), Shona Hoyle, Amy Hardcastle, Tara-Jane Stanley, who kicked four goals, Danielle Bound and Beth Sutcliffe were enough to secure the win.
The semi-final saw England beaten 52-4 by New Zealand on 26 November at Southern Cross Group Stadium, despite a first-half Tara-Jane Stanley try.
Australia would go on to win the final 23-16 on 2 December at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane.
Results
Group Stage
• Thursday, 16 November 2017 - England 36-8 Papua New Guinea | Southern Cross Group Stadium, Sydney
• Sunday, 19 November 2017 - England 0-38 New Zealand | Southern Cross Group Stadium, Sydney
• Wednesday, 22 November 2017 - England 16-22 Cook Islands | Southern Cross Group Stadium, Sydney
Semi-Final
• Sunday, 26 November 2017 - New Zealand 52-4 England | Southern Cross Group Stadium, Sydney
Players
Squad for the 2018 International Test against France, held on Saturday, 27 October in Carcassonne:
- Amy Hardcastle (Bradford Bulls) Caps: 16
- Amy Johnson (Leeds Rhinos) Caps: 1
- Andrea Dobson (Featherstone Rovers) Caps: 24
- Caitlin Beevers (Leeds Rhinos) Caps: 1
- Dannielle Anderson (Leeds Rhinos) Caps: 1
- Emily Rudge - captain (St Helens) Caps: 19
- Faye Gaskin (St Helens) Caps: 6
- Georgia Roche (Castleford Tigers) Caps: 1
- Jodie Cunningham (St Helens) Caps: 19
- Kelsey Gentles (Castleford Tigers) Caps: 0
- Naomi Williams (St Helens) Caps: 1
- Rebecca Greenfield (Wigan Warriors) Caps: 1
- Rhiannion Marshall (Leeds Rhinos) Caps: 2
- Shona Hoyle (Bradford Bulls) Caps: 7
- Sinead Peach (Castleford Tigers) Caps: 3
- Tara Jones (St Helens) Caps: 4
- Tara-Jane Stanley (Castleford Tigers) Caps: 9
- Tamzin Renouf (Castleford Tigers) Caps: 0
- Vanessa Temple (Wigan Warriors) Caps: 1
- Vicky Whitfield (St Helens) Caps: 0
Coaches
Head coach
Jo Warbington (2007)
Brenda Dobek (2008-2010)
Anthony Sullivan (2011)
Steve McCormack (2012)
Chris Chapman (2013-2017)
Craig Richards (2018–present)
Assistant coach
Neil Gregg & Brenda Dobek (2007)
Neil Gregg & Anita Naughton (2007-2009)
Nigel Johnson (2009-2012)
Nigel Johnson & Thomas Brindle (2011)
Thomas Brindle (2012-2017)
Lindsay Anfield (2018–present)
Records
Team
Biggest Win: England 54-0 France, 13/7/2013 – Women's Rugby League World Cup, third-placed play-off, South Leeds Stadium, Hunslet
Biggest Defeat: New Zealand 52-4 England, 26/11/2017 – Women's Rugby League World Cup semi-final, Southern Cross Group Stadium, Sydney
Individual
Most Caps: Andrea Dobson - 24
Most Tries: Natalie Gilmour MBE - 9
Competitive record
List of all-time matches played
2007 International Test -
WIN v France
2008 International Test -
WIN v France
2008 Women's Rugby League World Cup -
WIN v France
WIN v Russia | LOSS v Australia
LOSS v New Zealand
WIN v Pacific Islands
2009 International Tests -
25 July | France 8-28 England; France 0-36 England
2010 International Tests -
9 November | England 36-8 France
10 November | New Zealand 44-6 England
16 November | New Zealand 38-6 England
2011 International Tests -
2 July | France 6-36 England
6 July | France 4-42 England
2012 International Test -
15 June | England 48-0 France
2013 Women's Rugby League World Cup -
5 July | England 6-14 Australia
8 July | England 16-34 New Zealand
11 July | England 42-4 France
13 July | England 54-0 France
2015 International Tests -
17 June | France 4-24 England
20 June | France 14-14 England
2016 International Test -
22 October | France 6-40 England
2017 Women's Rugby League World Cup -
16 November | England 36-8 Papua New Guinea
19 November | England 0-38 New Zealand
22 November | England 16-22 Cook Islands
26 November | New Zealand 52-4 England
2018 International Test -
27 October | France 4-54 England
All-time head-to-head records -
| Opponent | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.svg.png){kind=small} | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0% |
 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% |
| 18 | 17 | 1 | 0 | |
 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0% |
| Pacific Islands | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Total | 30 | 18 | 1 | 9 | % |
World Cup
| World Cup Record | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | Win | Draw | Loss | |||||
 |
Did not enter | ||||||||||
  | |||||||||||
|
Third Place | 3rd out of 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | |||||
.svg.png){kind=small} |
Third Place | 3rd out of 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |||||
|
Semi Final | 3rd out of 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |||||
|
Qualified | ||||||||||
See also
- England Lions
- Great Britain Lionesses
References
External links
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