Saints prop Vicky Whitfield relishing challenge facing England in World Cup

SAINTS prop Vicky Whitfield is relishing the prospect of pulling on the England jersey again when the Women’s Rugby League World Cup kicks off in Australia in just over a fortnight.

Whitfield joins club teammate and skipper Jodie Cunningham in the 23-player squad heading Down Under on Thursday ahead of the prestigious tournament.

But she is under no illusions of how tough it will be to qualify from the group stages with matches against Wales, the current holders Australia and then finally Samoa.

Nevertheless, she is excited by the challenge – particularly with those games taking place on such a global stage with plenty more eyes on the action.

Whitfield said: “It is a tough group and a massive step up to what we play week in, week out domestically.

“But that is something we train for and I have worked hard for the past four-year cycle to get to this point.

“These are the massive games we want to play in; games where it is a challenge.”

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England play their first two Group A games in Perth, kicking off against Wales on October 17 before taking on the formidable hosts Australia a week later.

Prop forward Whitfield featured the last time England faced Australia in March 2025, a match which saw the Jillaroos running out 90-4 victors in the Las Vegas showpiece.

It was a match that led to plenty of soul-searching internally, as well as plenty of unhelpful knee-jerk criticism externally but Whitfield admits that what happened in Vegas came as a shock to a lot of the players that took to the field.

“Obviously you watch the NRLW and you see how amazing those athletes are, but it was only when you get onto that pitch to face it that it was put it into reality.

“We know what we're coming up against and we'll hopefully be able to manage those scenarios and compete a little bit better on certain aspects of the game,” she said.

The England players fly out on Thursday, October 8, with Whitfield turning 32 the following day.

But there will be no big birthday celebration, just a clear focus as she prepares for the opening game against some familiar faces in the Welsh team.

Among those wearing the red jersey are Saints players Dani McGifford and Paige Travis, who has switched allegiances from England.

Wales have also enlisted two NRL players in Sian Williams and Tayla Preston so will be stronger than last time they faced England.

Whitfield said: “It's a good game to start with because we can kind of get any kinks out of the system before our game against Australia.

“But we can't take Wales lightly; they've got some new strike players in there and if we switch off for even a second they'll take advantage of that.

“I think we've got to go into every game like we're playing Australia.”

Vicky Whitfield in action for England (Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

After those first two games in Perth, England go coast-to-coast with the final group game against Samoa in Wollongong with the top two qualifying for the semi-finals.

England’s 23-player squad features two Australian-based newcomers from the NRL in Sydney Roosters’ Jasmine Strange and Hope Millard from Canterbury Bulldogs.

The latter of those comes with a twist for Whitfield with Millard being a fellow Widnesian who was born in the town when her dad Shane Millard was playing for Vikings between 2003–05.

“It was a bit of a surprise when I found out Hope was born in Widnes.

“I don't know how much of it she'll remember of the place, but it's nice that we have got another Widnes representative in there.

“When I was a kid, I was a massive Widnes Vikings fan and I used to go to all of the home games with my best friend and her family, so I probably watched her dad play, which is quite funny.

“I have joked in the past that if we actually put together a team where the players had to play for their hometown, Widnes would actually have a really good team.”

Vicky Whitfield playing for England (Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

With the tournament lasting anything from three to five weeks Whitfield, who works as a business development manager for a training provider, has had to save all of her annual leave specifically for this tournament.

Balancing work with sport is something that the women players have to juggle, unlike their full-time male counterparts.

“I'm fortunate that my work has allowed me to take all my holidays en bloc,” she said.

“It has been a struggle getting through the year, I've had to buy additional holidays and have had to jump through some hoops.

“I've been in talks with my employers for the past year just to ease them into the idea of me being away for quite a significant amount of time, but they have been really good in allowing me to do that.”