Q&A: England captain and St Helens second row Emily Rudge

She is one of eight members of the Challenge Cup winning Saints side that was picked in the squad for the game that is part of the double header with the England v Combined Nations All Stars following.

We caught up with Emily to talk about the standing of the women’s game and her hopes for the sport’s future growth.

Emily Rudge scoring in the Challenge Cup Final. Pic: Bernard Platt

MC: What impact has the increased TV exposure had on Women’s Rugby League?

ER: The women’s game is growing, but I don’t think it is where it needs to be just yet and can get bigger.

Hopefully the World Cup coming up this year will help elevate it even further.

Hopefully the more people who get to watch and the more women who get involved, and more fans will get behind us in years to come.

MC: Given that people can now see you play on TV, do you feel like you can now be even more a positive role model for girls and young women?

ER: We have never been in the limelight enough for people to call us role models. But now as it grows people can follow us and what we are doing.

Last season we did have young girls wanting to have pictures with us, and that is really nice, and I do hope that we are inspiring them to take up rugby league – because when we started there wasn’t those female role models.

MC: Can you see the day coming when Women's Rugby League players can become full time professionals?

ER: I think RL is such a brilliant sport and I back it so much. I am such an advocate for the sport and the women that play it that I definitely think they deserve to get paid.

It’s a shame that it has not got as much money as other spirts at the moment.

The game will continue to grow and hopefully off the back of some success this year we may see in the next couple of years women getting paid.

We do get paid at Elite Level with England and when we go to the World Cup and also when we went to Papua New Guinea and the World Nines. It is definitely going in the right direction.

I would love to see the Women’s Super League be semi professional and hope and pray that happens before I retire.

Emily Rudge and Jodie Cunningham (Pic: Bernard Platt)

MC: Having been at the vanguard of the women’s game, with the likes of Jodie Cunningham, do you feel a little bit envious of what the younger players have open to them now and in the future or just proud of opening the doors for this to happen?

ER: I feel proud that we are the forefront of it now and I am glad that I have seen both sides.

I was at the very start played in parks and school fields watched by three people on the sidelines and there wouldn’t even be a shower for you to get into after the game.

I have gone from that to playing at Saints stadium and having backroom staff and professional support.

I am pleased that we get the chance to experience that. I look back and feel fortunate that I can see both sides because it makes us feel lucky to be in the position we are now.

For a lot of the younger girls they don’t know any different, so for them this is what they expect.

For the likes of me and Jodie, who have seen the other side of it, we can appreciate how good this actually is.

The next couple of years it is only going to keep growing and I am really looking forward to being a part of it.

MC: This year we have seen your sister Isabelle playing, how is she doing?

ER: She played when she was a kid, the same as me, and then fell out of love with it. She went to Uni and started playing rugby union and since she has come back from Uni has started playing league again.

She played the first year at Saints and then had a bit of time to focus on her career, but this season she is back and everybody says they can’t believe the difference in her.

She is just a totally different player since she has come back this season and has done really well. I am really proud of her.

Pics: SWpix.com/Bernard Platt