Leeds Rhinos Foundation’s Women and Girls Development Officer, Lois Forsell, says her World Cup trip to Australia as part of the Women’s England team has been a worthwhile experience.
Lois, who had enjoyed a treble winning season with her club side Bradford Bulls in 2017, was playing in her second World Cup and finished the tournament as the team’s second-best tackler with 114.
The England squad travelled to Australia just days before the tournament started and their first stop was to Narabeen, which is the training base of Manly Sea Eagles. From here they transferred to Sydney Olympic Park before attending the World Cup launch at Darling Harbour.
The team stayed opposite the ANZ Arena and were able to use the recovery gym in the Sydney Olympic Park pool and they were also given the opportunity on the trip to try out some alternative medical therapy such as Cryotherapy.
Lois won player of the match in the team’s first game was against Papua New Guinea as the England team earned an opening game victory, but they faced a tough challenge in their next game against reigning champions Australia Jillaroos at the Southern Cross Group Stadium and despite early chances they lost out 38-0.
The team were defeated by Cook Islands in their third game but had done enough to earn a place in the semi-final, where they took on New Zealand. Tara-Jane Stanley was the only try scorer in the semi for England as their World Cup run ended in a 52-4 defeat.
Along with opportunity to play against the best players in the World, Lois also got chance to see the community work her counterparts in Australia do and she was able to visit a local Primary School with an NRL Development Officer in Paramatta.
Speaking about the experience, Lois said: “It was a fantastic opportunity to represent my country in the World Cup. Although we were disappointed with some of the results it was a good learning experience for the team and we will take a lot from it as we return to play for our club sides.
“It was also worthwhile for me in my role at Leeds Rhinos Foundation to see the work the NRL do in the community and how the women’s game has been developed there. It was also great to visit some of their sporting facilities and to play our games at the home of Cronulla Sharks.”
Lois returns to Leeds ahead of a busy time for Leeds Rhinos as they get set to reveal their first ever Women’s squad. Lois has played a key role in the formation of the team and is eager to get back and continue the work ahead of next year’s Women’s Super League competition.
“It’s a really exciting time for the club and I am looking forward to seeing our first look Women’s team, which will be revealed in December,” said Lois. “Being in Australia it has shown me how much the game has grown because the work they have done there with their club sides and this has certainly reaped rewards for their national team. Women's Rugby League is the fastest growing sector of Rugby League with over 180,000 girls and Women playing Rugby League across Australia in Schools and Clubs and I hope the creation of the Rhinos women’s team will encourage more participation from girls and hopefully we will be able to help develop more players who will go on to star for England in the future.”
Lois has also been nominated for the Sportswoman of the Year at the Leeds Sports Awards. To cast your vote for her visit http://leedssportsawards.co.uk/nominations/