After Australia’s Jillaroos hammered England 90-4 in Las Vegas, questions have been asked on how best to close the gap between the elite in women’s rugby league.
On what should have been a celebration as England women faced Australia for the first time since 2017, the event fell flat as the Jillaroos showed that they are truly a level above.
They scored 17 tries with England’s sole score coming in the final minute as Australia marked their dominance on the big stage in Las Vegas.
Tamika Upton scored five whilst Julia Robinson and Jessica Sergis both scored hat tricks in a game that served as a sobering reminder of the difference in level between the two nations.
Whilst women’s rugby league is undoubtedly taking huge strides forward in the quality and the competition, it’s happening on both sides of the world and he Australians saw the NRLW go professional far before the Women’s Super League.
Not every team in the Women’s Super League will be professional this year which is a stark contrast to the NRLW, and that difference has been noted by fans as one of the key reasons for why the quality levels were so vast last night.
Rugby League fans make same point about England women’s game after Australia rout
🏴 Defeat for #EnglandRL in Las Vegas pic.twitter.com/Dh0xtFrOQp
— England Rugby League (@England_RL) March 2, 2025
Serious About Rugby League asked fans how can England women’s rugby league catch up to Australia with responses offering lots of suggestions but mainly honing in on the lack of a professional set-up.
You can join the debate by seeing the embedded post at the bottom of the article.
Daniel Bidder-Potts: “Have a semi-pro league (or even fulltime if possible) – i.e. pay the girls so they can dedicate more time to developing. You’re unlikely to have people aspire to play if there’s naff all money in it.”
Frank Cardwell: “Professional v non professional…. That is like Wigan playing an under 14 junior amateur side. Not a fair competition.”
Rachel Lumb: “The women’s game need support from fans and the clubs. There are so many negative attitudes towards the women’s game and this needs to stop. As already said, England women have full time jobs as well as rugby. It wasn’t an even match by any means. Instead of being embarrassed we should see it as a call for change and development.”
Jayne Twist: “All the England girls have to have other jobs and juggle so much more than the Australia team. The girls wear their hearts on their sleeves and played and kept playing that whole game. Maybe England just need to learn to back the team and support them more.”
Steven Woodhead: “England rugby league got shown up yesterday, a loss like that isn’t the end of the world but it is what we take from it. Female rugby league has to be taken seriously by people at everyone level and not just and additional thought. What happened yesterday wasn’t the players fault, they was never prepared for that game, but now they have to bounce back and demand better coaches and better conditions in order to get it that level and fast.”
Jamie Lyon: “More exposure and funding at grass roots. The passion an the want to play is there, 100%.”
Dean Williamson: “Only chance is getting at least 20 English players into the NRLW.”
Oliver Fairbank: “Start by having junior girls team from U7s rather than U11s/12s.. will entice more girls to play.”
