England v Wales: Women’s rugby league ‘a million miles’ better than ever – Cunningham

Jodie Cunningham says that women’s rugby league is in the best shape it has ever been “by a million miles” as England prepare to take on Wales at Headingley on Saturday.

Stuart Barrow’s side play Wales at 12:00 GMT in Leeds – before England’s men face Samoa in the second Test of their series – having won 60-0 in the same fixture almost 12 months ago.

The match is viewed as invaluable preparation for the Lionesses, who are starting to build towards a unique chance to showcase the British game when they face Australia in Las Vegas next March.

And captain Cunningham, 32, believes that the opportunities and development now present in the women’s game are in stark contrast to when she made her international bow in 2009.

“If you compare what we get now, what it looks like, the product on the field from any of the time I’ve been in the squad, the progress is just phenomenal,” she told BBC Sport.

“It is [the best it’s ever been] by a million miles.

“People say: ‘You are a generation too early and think of what you are going to miss out on.’ I feel really grateful and appreciate the development year on year because I’ve seen what it was like when nobody cared, we got no funding and kits didn’t fit and there were no young girls in the crowd because nobody knew about it.”

Cunningham cites the formation of the Women’s Super League in 2017 as a major turning point.

Since then, England has hosted a World Cup, while renewed calls for top-level female players to become fully professional has resulted in several clubs – including Leeds Rhinos, York Valkyrie and St Helens – introducing payments to players during a period in which attendances are also increasing.

By the end of next term, it will also be compulsory for every Super League team to have an Academy Under-19s set-up to provide another pathway for talented youngsters to thrive.