Pontefract exhibition aims to inspire next generation of women in Rugby League

A total of 26 former Rugby League Lionesses from the Wakefield District played, or were support staff for, Great Britain and 22 for England.

A special launch event for the exhibition, which will be held until August 2023, was held this week where a number of former Lionesses were presented with their caps and heritage numbers, including Kelsey Morgan, from Wakefield and Sarah Fletcher, from Normanton.

Stories collected during the course of the Life with the Lionesses project, including those of Joanna Carr-Will, are being used as part of the exhibition which has toured to a total of 10 venues across the North of England during 2022.

They are also being shared on social media, as part of the Women in Rugby League archive at Heritage Quays at the University of Huddersfield and on a dedicated website.

Joanna played for Great Britain in the inaugural 1996 tour to Australia and again in 1998. She originally got into hockey and football in her teens but remembers being invited by a local nurse’s team to play rugby against them as a fundraiser.

When she joined a new ladies’ team at Featherstone (Wakefield Panthers) she was able to watch players like Brenda Dobek who really inspired her to get better.

In order for women to play rugby at international level back in 1996 every player had to raise £1,000 each. At the time Joanne was working at Trebor Bassetts and they had a leadership award, which was a trip to Amsterdam.

“We did bucket collections and raffles and anything we could think of to raise that money,” she said.

“I was also working 12 hour shifts, but I don’t think we knew any different back then. We had club training twice a week and a game on a Sunday. We trained all day on the Saturday with the Great Britain squad. To fit that into your working week was really quite difficult. But we tried to make it as much fun as possible.

“Up until a couple of months before we went to Australia we didn’t even know if we were going, even though we’d been training and fundraising for a whole year. Finally being awarded our caps and heritage numbers this year makes me feel as if there was a purpose to all the sacrifices we made.”

Visitors to the exhibition will be able to follow their ground-breaking journey on and off the field and see their stories and experiences brought to life and will also hear from the women themselves.

Julia Lee, who is leading the project, said: “We are delighted to have been offered a platform for our exhibition in Pontefract. Women had to work so hard to get recognition for their achievements in Rugby League and we are keen to tell their stories to a wider public.

“Now that there is a Women’s Rugby League Hall of fame, it’s even more important to get the message out there and celebrate those early trailblazers.”