England v Australia: Women’s Test

Venue: Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas Date: Saturday, 1 March (02:00 GMT, Sunday, 2 March)

Coverage: Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app

Beating Australia would be a “game-changer” for women’s rugby league in England, centre Amy Hardcastle says.

The Jillaroos are the dominant force in the international game, winning the past three World Cups and losing just once since 2016.

That strength is also evident at club level, where the level of investment in the NRL Women’s Premiership (NRLW) allows for a mixture of full-time and semi-professional players – while their counterparts in England’s Women’s Super League play either for expenses or for free.

It means Australia are strong favourites going into Saturday’s Test against England in Las Vegas.

No English or British women’s side has beaten Australia since 2002 – a run of five defeats – but St Helens’ Hardcastle welcomes the challenge of toppling the world champions.

“Beating them, to me, would be the absolute game-changer,” she says. “And I think across the world, and across our country, it would change people’s opinions. Think how powerful that can be for a women’s team.

“It’d definitely change a lot moving forward, and I think a lot of doors would open for English women’s rugby league.”

Hardcastle, 35, is one of three players in the England squad – along with captain Jodie Cunningham and their St Helens club-mate Shona Hoyle – who featured in their last meeting with Australia, a 38-0 defeat at the 2017 World Cup.

Asked if she felt England had a better squad now than they did then, Hardcastle adds: “Yeah, absolutely.

“Seventeen years I’ve been in this squad and when I first started, we didn’t really play many games. But now we’re more consistent.

“The Super League’s getting better. And I find the pool of girls and women we get to choose from now are better because we’re not losing them to other sports, because our league’s getting better.

“And with the opportunities there are with England, why wouldn’t you want to be part of it?

“So I believe, especially going into the World Cup, we’ve got faster, stronger, fitter and cleverer in what we do. It’s not that I’ve never believed before, but I believe we’ve got one of the best England squads to face the Jillaroos.”

England face an Australia side going through a degree of turbulence, with head coach Brad Donald stepping down in early February amid allegations he made a disparaging comment about a journalist in front of players.

Jess Skinner, who was Donald’s assistant, has taken over as interim head coach.

“I believe you can have all the coaching and they bring what they do and their ways of thinking, but it’s all about the players,” Hardcastle said.

“When you’re on the field, it’s how you all connect. If you connect off the field, then you’re going to bring that on the field as well.”

Saturday night’s match, in line with NRLW rules, will be 70 minutes rather than the standard 80.

“I think that’s to our advantage,” Hardcastle said.

“We’re used to pushing that extra 10 minutes and that’s probably where the most energy battles are as well, so for us to play 70, we’ll be hitting our peak. So I do believe that we’ve got a pure advantage there.”

Saturday’s Test is part of a four-match rugby league showcase at Allegiant Stadium, featuring a men’s Super League match between Wigan and Warrington and two men’s NRL games.

The build-up has been overshadowed by criticism of the NRL for inviting US President Donald Trump to the showcase.

Trump was found liable for the sexual abuse and defamation of writer E Jean Carroll in a civil case in 2023.

The anti-domestic violence charity White Ribbon asked for its name to be removed from the NRL website on Thursday following the invitation; a letter, seen by the BBC, cited the league’s decision to associate with “well-known perpetrators of abuse and violence against women”.

White Ribbon, which has had a relationship with the NRL since the mid-2000s, did not specifically name Trump.

But the BBC has learned he was the focus of their protest, along with Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White, who also received an invite.

White was caught on camera on New Year’s Eve 2022 slapping his wife Anne during a physical altercation in a nightclub. He apologised for the incident and faced no charges.

NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo, speaking on Thursday, defended the decision to ask Trump to attend.

“We are playing this match in America. We’re being hosted by America,” Abdo said.

“Last year we invited Joe Biden, this year we invited Donald Trump. We invited the sitting president of the country in which we visit. It’s not an unusual practice to do this.”