'Rugby is my happy place' - Interview with England rugby league star, Amy Hardcastle
Amy with one of her team mates playing for St Helens
This month should have been the Rugby League World Cup hosted here in the UK but due to the pandemic, it has been postponed to next year. It was great speaking to one of England’s stars, Amy Hardcastle, earlier in the year before we knew it had been moved to 2022.
Amy’s story into playing rugby league is relatable for many girls. She used to play football with her older brother and his friends and as she says, she was ‘one of the boys’. Playing with the boys gave her confidence – they knew she was good; she knew she had the ability, but football wasn’t really her calling.
She’d watched rugby union being played by her village side and had seen rugby league on TV. She preferred the idea of holding the ball in your hands and running than having it at your feet as in football. Amy played with the boys at Friday night rugby training and it happened again: they told her she’d be great as a rugby player and it was a shame she couldn’t be on their side. Those words from her male peers, spurred her on; she kept them with her.
In all great sporting stories, there’s a moment when the protagonist realises what their destiny must be. For Amy Hardcastle, at college, her moment began with a poster. The poster was advertising a new girls’ rugby league team in Siddal, Calderdale in Yorkshire.
She admits that she was a 17 year old who hung around with her friends, probably smoking but this poster was her ‘lightbulb moment’. She had to weigh up carrying on doing what she was doing versus doing something different, doing something with her life.
“People think I’m really confident but I’m not really. I hate new environments; I don’t like being the new person. But this passion I had inside me, I wanted to play rugby league. I had to overcome that.”
And thank goodness she did.
Amy Hardcastle’s rugby roots
Siddal was a team made up of girls who’d played before and newcomers like Amy. Amy’s teammates were telling her she had talent but ever-humble Amy still didn’t believe them. Her England call-up after six months was an endorsement on another level.
France was the location of her England debut. Let’s remember that she lacked confidence and wasn’t sure about new environments and the same old doubts recurred, the same doubts that many of us feel – will I fit in? Will I be liked? But as Amy puts it so brilliantly, ‘It’s like stairs and you have to take one step at a time.’
Amy with St Helens after winning the Challenge Cup, June 2020
She did bond with her teammates and loved their positive feedback on her performance. Another boost to her confidence.
Obstacles along the way
Amy doesn’t remember being body conscious in her teens, and she wasn’t worried about periods, two common obstacles that girls face. The biggest challenge was being invited for a night out and having to say no because of a rugby match the next day.
Friends didn’t realise what rugby meant to Amy and so they didn’t always understand her commitment. ‘I had been picked for the team and I didn’t want to let the team down by not being prepared. Rugby is a big deal for me. I had purpose, I had something to aim for. Could I make people proud of me playing rugby?’
Despite the challenges from friends about how committed she was to rugby, Amy was supported and it’s something she comes back to time and again: friends supported her, the boys she used to play with supported her and her family supported her. She felt encouraged and that meant a lot.
Growth of rugby league and Amy’s success
2013, the Rugby League World Cup was hosted in Yorkshire, Amy’s home county. She loved that it was literally at home for her and was amazed that as they arrived at venues, fans were waiting. In 2017, Amy was in Australia for the next World Cup. Rugby league is BIG in Australia and so it was an all new environment: ‘The number of fans was overwhelming!’ Amy noticed the huge step up in publicity for this World Cup, and then the World Cup 9s came around.
Amy and her England kit - watch her play tomorrow vs France
This is rugby league but with just nine players as opposed to the usual 13. The England team was paid for this event. Amy stresses that she plays rugby league because she loves it, it’s her greatest achievement after her daughter and although she would like to be paid, she plays anyway. But, being paid for doing something you love, is something special and it made Amy feel good. Alongside being paid, they were on the same platform as the men and they felt ‘like one big family’.
As for Amy, she started out at Bradford Bulls and then moved to St Helens – two stalwart teams of the game. At the beginning of 2020, thanks to her success, she was named in the NRL Team of the Decade – the only woman who didn’t come from Australia or New Zealand. AMAZING!!! This is a big achievement and quite an accolade.
At grassroots, she’s pleased that there are more U11 teams and age groups above so that her daughter and other girls can play. Her daughter used to play in a mixed team but as the only girl, she found that no one passed to her – anyone else relate?
The more teams around for older girls mean that they don’t have to stop playing rugby league just as they’re getting going and either fall out of the habit of being active or take all those fantastic rugby skills to another sport. Amy’s daughter is proving to be a great coach to the younger girls in her team or those less experienced. Remember the Hardcastle name, I say!
Amy the superhero
So, as well as being an internationally recognised rugby league player, Amy has been at the front line as a full-time A&E nurse. And just as we tell you that sport gives you skills that you can use at work, Amy confirms. Being in a rugby league team has given her the strength and resilience to work in A&E; everyone at work is different and has their own quirks just as those in a rugby team do so she’s been able to use those skills to get along with everyone. Teamwork, communication, resilience, leadership – they’re all relevant.
Amy is a wonderful person. She made a mature decision aged 17 to step away from the path she was on and do something different. She gave herself purpose and has achieved greatness in her sport. And on top of all that, she’s a mum and a nurse on a very demanding ward. I get the feeling that she’s still that girl messing about with her friends and playing the sport she loves. Rugby is her happy place and we’re happy she plays rugby!
I’m so disappointed that the Rugby League World Cup didn’t happen this year but tomorrow Saturday 23rd October 2021, there is England vs France! And it’s on terrestrial TV in the UK on BBC 2. You won’t be disappointed.