Leeds Rhinos women earn England call up as Super League hopefuls dominate academy Origin win
Five Leeds Rhinos players have been named in the England women’s squad to face Wales this weekend.
Forward Lucy Murray is in contention to make her international debut in Saturday’s game at Neath, which will be broadcast live on S4C. She is joined in England’s 20-player group by clubmates Ruby Bruce, Evie Cousins, Izzy Northrop and Bella Sykes.
Murray, 22, played for Hunslet Warriors and South Leeds Spartans before joining Rhinos’ academy and made her first team debut in 2021. She was Leeds’ player of the year last season and a Woman of Steel nominee.
Cousins, Northrop, Murray, Sykes and Bruce all featured for Yorkshire in their 50-8 loss to Lancashire in the women’s Origin clash at Hull KR, alongside clubmates Ebony Stead - who was a try scorer for the White Rose - and Ruby Walker.
England coach Stuart Barrow said: “It has been incredibly difficult to decide who will travel to face Wales this Saturday, especially after we have just played a really intense Origin fixture that pushed both sides to their limits. I think we have a strong squad going into the fixture and we’re looking forward to returning to Wales for the first time since 2022 as we continue our preparations for next year’s World Cup.
“We have some new names coming into the squad which reflects the form shown in Super League this year and it’s going to be really exciting for everyone involved welcoming them into camp. I’ll be looking to the senior internationals to help settle them in and show them what it means to be an England player.”
Wales are on the back of an 18-12 win over Scotland at Neath, secured through a last-minute try by Rhinos’ Bethan Dainton. She was player of the match, while clubmate Grace Field was among the try scorers for Scotland, whose side included another Leeds player Kaiya Glynn.
The England Women squad is: Savannah Andrade (York Valkyrie), Grace Banks (Wigan Warriors), Ruby Bruce, Evie Cousins (both Leeds Rhinos), Jodie Cunningham (St Helens), Anna Davies, Jenna Foubister, Eva Hunter (all Wigan), Phoebe Hook (St Helens), Molly Jones (Wigan), Katie Mottershead (St Helens), Lucy Murray, Izzy Northrop (both Leeds), Eboni Partington (York), Emily Rudge (St Helens), Isabel Rowe (Wigan), Bella Sykes (Leeds), Georgia Wilson (Wigan), Liv Wood (York), Vicky Whitfield (St Helens).
Meanwhile, 11 Rhinos players featured in Yorkshire’s 40-10 defeat of Lancashire in the men’s academy Origin fixture, also at Sewell Group, Craven Park. Five of them - George Brown, Oscar Brown, Joe Diskin, Zak Lloyd and Marcus Qareqare - were among Yorkshire’s try scorers. Another, Harley Thomas, booted six goals from seven attempts and also had a spell in the sin-bin for a professional foul.
Daniel Stelfox, Jacob Stead, Harry Smith, Joe Butterfield and Dacx Jones-Buchanan were the other Leeds players on duty for Yorkshire, alongside Castleford Tigers’ Alfie Lindsay and Tyler Sharp. Wakefield Trinity’s Ellis Lingard was also sin-binned, for a dangerous tackle in the final minute.
Yorkshire’s win completed a clean-sweep in the two-match series following the White Rose’s 42-10 victory at Castleford in May.