Women’s rugby league looks to future as Leeds and York open Super League

T here can be no doubting that women’s rugby league has made immeasurable strides in recent years. After all, it is barely seven years since the best female players were competing on fields littered with broken glass and in front of the odd dog walker. Yet on Sunday, when the seventh instalment of the Women’s Super League begins, for the first time there will be more than just points on the line.

Last autumn’s World Cup produced record crowds for the women’s game and a feeling that the sport is on an upward trajectory. That was then emphasised within weeks of England’s defeat in the semi-finals with news that Leeds and York, the WSL’s two leading lights, would pay their players in 2023. It is a seismic moment which will become reality when the pair face off at Headingley in a rematch of last year’s Grand Final, which was won by Leeds.

The season opener will be the first part of a double header, followed by the Rhinos’ men taking on Huddersfield Giants at 6pm.

“I’m excited but apprehensive,” the former Leeds and England prop Danika Priim says. “There desperately needs to be some kind of build and legacy from the World Cup. There’s no doubt it’s going to be the best season in terms of the calibre of players, the standard of the athletes and the chance to build on the World Cup. But it has to deliver to continue the trajectory we’ve enjoyed in recent years.”

There is devil in the detail of Leeds’ and York’s payment structure. The players from both sides will earn win bonuses rather than a match fee, meaning that only the victors will get paid £50 per player. That fee will rise to about £100 if either side are victorious in the playoffs or Challenge Cup come the business end of the season and while it is certainly still