Women’s game is blossoming in England, says Courtney Hill

Drew Darbyshire 27 Jul 2019 3:12 PM

Leeds star Courtney Hill believes the women’s game in England is only to going to get bigger ahead of the 2021 World Cup.

The Rhinos became the first team to beat Castleford in the women’s game this year as they won 16-10 to be crowned Challenge Cup winners on Saturday.

Australian Hill – who scored a try in a woman of the match performance – believes the women’s game will only grow bigger and better in the build-up to the 2021 World Cup.

She said: “I love watching the game grow over here and hopefully that transition is down to professionalism.

“It’s a really exciting period, particularly because England are going to host the World Cup in the very near future so moments like today and hosting World Cup is only going to do wonderful things for the women’s game.

“I’m so proud to be a part of it, particularly with a club like Leeds Rhinos.

“They are a global brand in the sporting world and I couldn’t think of a better club to be a part of this women’s rugby league journey with.”

Leeds women’s head coach Adam Cuthbertson – who plays for Leeds’ men’s side – has now guided the squad to back-to-back Challenge Cup titles.

He added: “I am just so proud of the effort of the girls.

“We came into the game as underdogs, everyone was talking about Cas. My message to the players was simple – ‘you only have 80 minutes to show what you’re made of’.

“And we walked a lot about sacrifice and the girls did that. They went out there and sacrificed themselves for the cause and for one another.

“Some of our efforts to bundle them into touch when they looked certain to score were outstanding and you can’t really coach that.”