Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Julie Stott

England women looking to provide perfect boost to Great Britain in their own Papua New Guinea clash

Craig Richards hopes England Women can provide the perfect boost to Great Britain in Port Moresby on Saturday.

The women's team take on Papua New Guinea in the first part of a double header with the Lions and Kumuls.

Craig Richards' team have already won their first Test on the island, 24-10, and are desperate to make it an historic double.

The game is being shown live on the BBC red button and another good performance will give the sport's profile a huge lift.

Richards believes it will also help the men as they look to stop the rot of a three-match losing run on their tour Down Under.

Skipper Emily Rudge speaks to the press in PNG (Julie Stott)

He said: "The girls are really determined to win for the badge. We also want the guys to walk into the stadium and have a lift from our performance.

"After the first Test we know what we are up against and we're really excited that it's a double header with the Lions.

"PNG are a formidable set of girls. If you are not smart and try and get in an arm wrestle with them then you will come unstuck.

"They are very physical and they are also very passionate and will not give in, they are almost relentless."

This tour, plus the recent World Cup Nines, is the first time England's women have been paid to play.

Former England star Jamie Jones Buchanan snaps the women's side training (Julie Stott)

Richards added: "The money is great and it's a reward but our aim is to become the world's best team. If we get paid on the back of it, fantastic.

"There are no limits to where the women's game can go. Back home we're starting to get really good crowds and people are talking about us more."

Captain Emily Rudge, who scored four tries in last week's win in Goroka, added: "The women's game has taken massive strides in the last two years.

"This tour is opening up opportunities and the double header with the Lions is a great platform for women's rugby league.

"Papua New Guinea will come at us firing on Saturday and we'll be playing in front of a lot of their fans but we're ready for the challenge."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.