Rugby League World Cup: England’s players need to turn professional says departing Craig Richards

England’s women’s players need to turn professional if they are to close the gap on New Zealand and Australia, says departing head coach Craig Richards.

“I don’t see what more they could have done other than sack off work and train unemployed,” said Richards, who said he would not continue in the role.

“I’ve got girls going to gyms at five in the morning before work.”

Unlike finalists Australia and the majority of players in the New Zealand side who play in the fully professional NRL women’s competition, England’s side consists of part-time players, with many having to book time off work to compete in the tournament.

“I have spent five years trying to close the gap. It is not good enough,” added a clearly emotional Richards.

“What more do you want from these girls? Those girls [the New Zealand players] are professional so the question is do you want to compete with them or not?

“I hope that’s the way it goes. On the back of payment it is then about behaviours. So the players that get that need to recognise what being professional is and embrace it.

“The money needs to be a bonus but there needs to be an attitude change. During the pandemic the girls were meeting up and sprinting in parks in pairs; they were doing press-ups in back gardens wearing weighted ruck sacks.

“When I got the job and someone sent me the videos of the last World Cup [in 2017 where England were beaten 52-4 by New Zealand], I thought: ‘Wow, what have I done?’ One of the tasks was just to get close.

“It’ll be someone else who takes the team forward. That decision was made a while ago. It won’t be me so I’ll support from afar.”

Leeds Rhinos are currently the only Super League club to announce they will award win bonuses and “meritocratic payments for success in the Challenge Cup and Grand Final competitions” to their players from 2023.

Leeds, who won the Women’s Super League Grand Final in September, said it was the next phase in their move to make their women’s team fully professional. However, Richards says others will need to follow.

“I think at times, the competition [Super League] doesn’t help because all the talent is in two or three sides. There needs to be more work done to strengthen all the other sides that are behind. Until you get that, you will struggle to catch these guys,” he added.

‘Hopefully we have inspired the next generation’

Captain Emily Rudge and forward Jodie Cunningham were two of four survivors from the last England squad to play in a home World Cup nine years ago.

And while both have spoken positively about the evolution of the domestic game, they also believe the next steps need to be taken to help inspire a new generation of stars.

“The pathways are there and progress is being made,” said Cunningham.

“It’s been massive since the last World Cup, but for us it’s about getting more girls playing and hopefully we have inspired a lot of girls to take up the sport.

“It gets said a lot but these girls need to start being paid. We need more time together.

“For us being in camp for two weeks as full-time professionals has been incredible and to be able to take the next step before the next World Cup would be brilliant.”

Rudge added: “It’s been an incredible home World Cup for us. We definitely wanted to go one step further than the semi-finals.

“Hopefully we have inspired the next generation and those young girls watching in the crowd.”