Jodie Cunningham left beaming at rise of female game as England expects

JODIE Cunningham may soon have to pack away her drum – the drum she has been beating for women and girls’ rugby league.

For the progression in the sport in terms of participation levels and standards has been huge.

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And the St Helens ace hopes to help England make another step in the right direction, a win over France ahead of a tilt at the World Cup.

Jodie has long been an advocate of the women’s game but the reception was once less enthusiastic than today, when Craig Richards’ team shares the Warrington stage with Shaun Wane’s men’s side.

She recalled: “It was almost like no-one was listening. People didn’t quite see the vision.

“Five or 10 years ago, you wouldn’t be talking about women and girls’ rugby league full stop. Nobody would be talking to me about it.

“I’ve been banging the drum for many years and I would to anyone who’d listen about how brilliant it is and the potential it has.

“And the progress we’ve made in recent years has been massive. People are starting to see it so I don’t have to bang that drum any more.

“Playing at Warrington will be a great experience and the fact it’s a double-header will get more eyes on the sport too.

“It’s massive for us personally but every time we get opportunities like this, it’s about making sure we see the bigger picture as well.

“And the team is better now than it was when we beat France last year. When the World Cup was postponed, I went into a couple of days of sulking but we’re a year more mature now and the squad is more competitive.

“We’re believe we’re better than we ever have been before.”

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Jodie was speaking at a women and girls’ training session for more than 60 people at amateur club Ashton Bears, which was awarded £24,176 of National Lottery RLWC2021 CreatedBy funding.

It set up its women and girls’ section in 2017 with a handful of under-14s and now has four teams and 85 active players.

“Playing this sport changes young girls’ lives and things like this – as well as talking about future growth in years to come – is really exciting. We’ve seen the rise in standards already.”

*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 some of the hardest hit and most disadvantaged communities across England through the RLWC2021 CreatedBy Grants Programme.