World Cup captains inspiring the next generation of women's stars

However, the experience of the leaders in each team will be key to progressing deep into the tournament.

Australian Jillaroos coach Brad Donald is hoping to replicate the success of the model he adopted in 2017 where he named a leadership team of three captains in Stephanie Hancock, Renae Kunst and Ruan Sims to guide the squad. For this year’s competition, Ali Brigginshaw, Sam Bremner and Kezie Apps will take the reigns.

All three were part of the successful 2017 squad (even though Bremner was injured before the kick-off), while both Brigginshaw and Bremner have both experienced what it feels like to lift the World Cup trophy on English soil, having featured in the ground-breaking 2013 triumph over New Zealand.

With the other two 2017 returnees in Isabelle Kelly (Sydney Roosters) and Simaima Taufa (Parramatta) captaining their clubs, Australia are blessed with a strong leadership team.

The Kiwi Ferns will again be huge rivals for the Jillaroos and will be led by Krystal Rota. Rota has had a remarkable career to date in the black-and-white jersey which began with a breakthrough call-up for the inaugural Kiwi Ferns v Jillaroos series at the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines.

The talented hooker will have plenty of experience around her to draw from, with players like Georgia Hale, Apii Nicholls and Raecene McGregor all taking part in numerous representative campaigns.

For their first match of the tournament, the Ferns will face off against France, who will be captained by Alice Verela.

Selected from Toulouse Ovali, for this year’s World Cup, she will have the support of a number of players with plenty of passion and experience for Les Tricolores, including halfback / fullback Elisa Ciria who has played in two World Cups already, as well as featuring in Test matches for her country.

Considered a role model for the younger players in the French team, Ciria is always encouraging her team-mates to never give up.

Prop Gaelle Alverne is another who is known to always been pushing her team-mates and is seen as a key part of the middle who will always work on completing the one percenters and won’t been beaten on effort.

Laureane Biville has been tipped as a player to watch in the tournament and can be expected to help provide guidance on-and-off the field to the less experienced players in the French side.

Newcomers Brazil were led in their Rugby League World Cup debut against England in the opening match of the women’s tournament by Maria Graf who was one of only two players still remaining from the 48-0 win against Argentina which helped Brazil qualify for the tournament.

Although well beaten by the home side, a number of players put their hands up on the field and will be key support to Graf throughout the campaign, in particular forward Franciny Amaral who impressed with her skill and her workload.

Canada are playing in their second consecutive Rugby League World Cup tournament and the experience of vice captain Megan Pakulis, who scored the first World Cup points for the Ravens in 2017, will be vital. Pakulis scored another try as her side went down in a closely-fought match against PNG Orchids to open their 2021 campaign and were captained by Gabby Hindley, a former all-Canadian rugby union player at the University of British Columbia. Prior to the pandemic, Hindley played North Sydney Bears.

Senior players such as former Kiwi Fern Laura Mariu and Petra Woods both displayed strong contributions in their opening pool game and will be providing support.

PNG Orchids are another team featuring in back-to-back tournaments for the first time in their history and coach Ben Jeffries has reappointed the incomparable Elsie Albert to lead the team.

Already an inspiration as the first Papua New Guinea based player to transition from a local player to Queensland’s statewide competitions into the NRLW, the St George Illawarra Dragons forward showed in their win against the Ravens that she will lead from the front.

Vice captain Gloria Kaupa was the youngest player in the Orchids squad during the 2017 tournament and has worked hard to return to the squad, with her dedication rewarded with an official leadership role.

“It's an honour for me to be given the opportunity to captain my country, but this time on the World Cup stage,” Albert told media when she was announced as captain.

“In 2017 when I watched the girls playing in their first ever World Cup, it was pioneer Orchids like Cathy Neap and Della Audama (now Orchids assistant coach) who inspired me.

“Now, I think me being in the NRLW system inspires the girls back home. I get a lot of messages saying, ‘seeing you play inspires us to get our boots on and get onto the field’.

“When I run out as captain, I think about the girls back home who are inspired by me to play rugby league or are sitting at home not knowing what to do…it’s about inspiring the next generation of girls to play rugby league, or those who want to do things in other male-dominated areas. If you put your mind and hard work into anything, you can achieve it.”

Cook Islands boast their most experienced team in years, with a number of former Jillaroos and Kiwi Ferns set to feature for the Moana.

Co-captains Kimiora Breayley-Nati and Elianna Walton have extremely impressive CVs, with numerous Test and State of Origin appearances between them. Breayley-Nati is also the inaugural  Karyn Murphy Medal winner, having guided the Brisbane Broncos to their 2018 title. The side also features Kiana Takairangi making her Cook Islands return.

Home side England have plenty of leaders in their side, many who showed their skills in front of the biggest crowd for a women’s rugby league game in the United Kingdom.

Playing before 8621 spectators, the Lionesses proved too strong for Brazil in their opening Pool A win. All-time top try-scorer Amy Hardcastle added to her tally with a hat-trick and is a huge influence on the team, while captain Emily Rudge is taking part in her fourth Rugby League World Cup.

Although she made her England debut in the win, Australian-born Courtney Winfield-Hill showed she was a leader on the field, directing the play from halfback in a player of the match performance while also running in for a hat-trick of her own.