U16 P2P Female Pathway players physically profiled for the first time

On Sunday 1 March, Pathway to Performance (P2P) players from all eight Women’s Super League Academies (Barrow Raiders, Featherstone Rovers, Huddersfield Giants, St Helens, Warrington Wolves, Wigan Warriors, York Valkyrie) took part in the RFL’s Player and Coach Education (PACE) Festival held at Leeds Beckett University. This was a first at U16s for the female pathway, exposing players to a series of physical tests, enabling each player to be physically profiled.

As part of the day, the players were profiled in the following areas; Height, Body mass, Strength, Power, Speed & Aerobic capacity. This allows players to see where they sit physically, compared to their positional peers in their competition and identify areas both to maintain and areas to develop.

The profiling of u16’s players, now means that all players from; Womens Super League, Womens Super League u19’s and now Womens Super League P2P have been physically assessed.

In addition, players received key education to assist them on their playing journey. Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) lifestyle practitioner, David Knapton, delivered a workshop on ‘Exploring your Dual Career journey as a Rugby League player’, to highlight the benefits and how to successfully combine Rugby League and a career outside of sport. Players also received a thorough explanation of the pathway opportunities available to them, both at WSL clubs and on the national programme. 

The day concluded with some small-sided touch games, where players were able to showcase the core skills they have developed and represented their P2P programme against the other WSL Clubs.

Phil Jones, the RFL’s National Player Development Manager, said:

“It’s a great example of the value of our partnership with Leeds Beckett University, as it would be impossible to put on without the world class facilities and expertise of staff they can provide. We have successfully profiled over 400 players in the game; with this data we can now track their development within Rugby League. These Profiles of all pathway players from age 16 to senior level, will let us highlight key moments through their rugby league journey and what it takes to be a high performer”.

Stuart Barrow, the RFL’s Head of Female Pathways & England Head coach, reflected on the day by stating:

“After the establishment and hard work done by the clubs in setting up the P2P programmes, it was the next stage of development to then collect data that will aid our player development pathway in years to come. It was a fantastic day to celebrate this success by seeing all 8 clubs attend with over 90 players and staff. Not only did they co-operate in a great 9’s festival of activity but also participated in education workshops and were out put through the testing protocols that match the WSL senior womens and 19’s programme. The day was expertly delivered by the Head of Performance for England senior women; the gathered information will help shape our future as we continue to strive to improve the pathway experience for players."

The day also saw the RFL Performance Department induct 21 staff ahead of the Girls Talent Hubs programme starting in the summer. Attendees gained an insight from Head coach Stuart Barrow, into how the England senior team are preparing for the World Cup. Hubs staff also received key learnings on how to effectively communicate with young female players. The day concluded with a tackle safe workshop delivered by the RFL Education Team, who are focusing on improving technique within the female game throughout 2026.