How Australia’s Courtney Winfield-Hill is living her World Cup dream with Leeds Rhinos and England

Originally from Queensland, Courtney Winfield-Hill played cricket for her state and featured in Brisbane Heat’s Big Bash squad before moving to England and switching sports to rugby league.

A founder member of Leeds Rhinos’ Women’s Super League squad four years ago, she captained them to back-to-back Challenge Cup successes in their first two seasons and Grand Final glory at the end of 2019.

Named Woman of Steel that season, Winfield-Hill’s skill, game management and leadership attracted the attention of England’s backroom staff, but her World Cup ambitions seemed to have been thwarted when the eligibility criteria changed from three years’ residency to five.

However, the 12-month delay to the tournament, after Australia and New Zealand declined to take part last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, provided an unexpected lifeline.

Now eligible, the 35-year-old goal-kicking half-back was officially confirmed as a member of the national training squad at the start of this week and is on course to take to the field under her new flag when the women’s tournament begins seven months on Friday.

“It feels like a conversation that has been going around for three years now,” said Winfield-Hill of her new rugby allegiance.

“It is really nice it has now been formalised and I have been formally invited to join the squad. It’s an opportunity that, without Covid, would not have been able to happen, with the change in the residency rules in February, 2020.

“I have just ticked over five years and if the World Cup had gone ahead last year I would have missed out by five months. When I initially got the news I was ineligible, I was quite disheartened because it took me a long time to wrap my head around the idea of playing with and for England.

“I got over it, but the silver lining to the World Cup being postponed was, for me, I got this opportunity and it’s one I am incredibly grateful for.

“Opportunities like this don’t come around every day so I will take it with both hands, work really hard and hopefully put my best foot forward for the World Cup come November.”

The idea of playing for England originated with former Rhinos Kevin Sinfield, who was head of the national performance unit after retiring as a player.

Winfield-Hill, who married Yorkshire and England cricketer Lauren Winfield-Hill in March, 2020 and works as a coach for the Leeds-based Northern Diamonds women’s cricket franchise, remains a proud Aussie and admitted: “When Kevin Sinfield planted the seed that I might be eligible, he kind of threw it on me and it took me by surprise.

“It kind of felt a little uneasy with me at the time, but the more I thought about it, England has been where I have played my rugby league and it is not my traditional home, but it feels like my rugby league home.

“Across all my sports I very much love playing for my friends and my really close people and I feel with regards to rugby league, that is certainly here in England.

“I think every kid dreams of having the chance to play on a world stage; for me it is just in different colours to the ones I dreamed of as a kid.

“The opportunity to play at that level is one I can’t say no to, but I sat with the decision for a long time, since 2019.

“It is certainly one I have thought long and hard about, but I am happy with it.”

Yesterday marked 200 days until the opening game of the men’s tournament, between England and Samoa at St James’ Park, Newcastle, on Saturday, October 15. England will kick-off the women’s competition against Brazil at Headingley on Tuesday, November 1. They play Canada in Wigan four days later and return to Leeds to play Papua New Guinea on November 9.

The semi-finals will be staged as a double-header in York on November 14 and the final is a curtain-raiser to the men’s showpiece at Old Trafford, Manchester, on Saturday, November 19.

That will certainly be played in front of the biggest crowd for a women’s game in this country and World Cup organisers are anticipating record gates for the stand-alone fixtures.

“We are in the heartland of rugby league and that will be special in itself,” said Winfield-Hill. “We know, particularly here in the north, people are so passionate about rugby league, but there’s a growing audience for the women’s space and the wheelchair space as well.

“This tournament is going to shed so much light on the game as a collective. It is incredibly special and it will certainly be an honour to be a part of that, hopefully, fingers crossed.”