NEW signing Grace Field is hopeful that the guidance of York City Knights Ladies’ talented coaching team can help put her in the frame for an England call-up later this year.

Prop Field arrived at the LNER Community Stadium from Castleford Tigers early last month amid a slew of signings which signalled the Knights’ ambitions for their women’s team.

Five of the seven players who joined York on May 7 were linking up with former Tigers coach Lindsay Anfield, who was made York Ladies’ new director of rugby in the previous week, having left Cas in the off-season.

Also on the coaching team is men’s first-team star Adam Cuth-bertson and Callum Windley, the latter also formerly of Castleford.

With the Rugby League World Cup coming up in the next six months - England Women kick off at Headingley against Brazil on November 9 - conditions might just be perfect for Field, whose Monks Cross-based home stadium is set to host group games as well as both semi-finals.

“I’m really pleased I made the jump,” said Field. “I think the level of coaching that I’m currently receiving is what I wanted, especially in a World Cup year.

“Working alongside Lindsay and Cuthbo, I feel, is going to put me in the best position to play rep rugby at the end of the year.

“Not only that but to help York Ladies into the position they deserve. The facilities are second-to-none and for the opportunities being given by the club, you need the players and the staffing to match that.

“What’s going on at the moment is really matching.”

Field has also been training once a fortnight with the England Performance Unit ahead of the international against Wales on June 25 at Warrington’s Halliwell Jones Stadium.

“Hopefully my performances put me in contention,” added Field, who has settled in York after completing a PE & Coaching integrated master’s degree at York St John University.

“It would be a dream come true to play in a World Cup, especially in Leeds and York, which are my hometown and adopted hometown.”

Joining York, though, was something of a leap of faith for Field, she revealed. After all, she was leaving behind a Castleford side with whom she had topped the Women’s Super League, made a Challenge Cup final and been selected to play for England in 2019 for a side who finished second-bottom in the division that year.

But, among other attractions, the draw of continuing a seven-year working relationship with Anfield was too strong.

And the decision may be proved the right one. It is very early days yet but the Knights Ladies are certainly heading in the right direction.

Field herself made an instant splash, scoring what she believes was a first career hat-trick on her Knights debut in the fantastic Challenge Cup quarter-final win over Wigan Warriors.

York are heading into the final of that competition this Saturday.

Field said: “It just shows how good a coach Lindsay is that she can take me from one environment, throw me into a completely new one and I can perform just as well, if not better, and prove my worth, prove that she was right to take me on this journey with her.

“My decision-making process was, ‘If I don’t take this step now, do I miss out?’, but equally, it was, ‘If I do take this step now, could I be making a big mistake?’

“At that point, York had sat at the bottom of Women’s Super League for a few years and it was very much a case of, ‘Do I hit the wave at the right time and have a lot of success working with Lindsay, Cuthbo, Cal and Daryl (North, coach), or do I hold back a year and see how everything goes?’

“I spoke with a lot of people at all levels of the game, but most importantly, I spoke to my dad. I know it sounds quite cliched but he just said, ‘Whatever you do, in some people’s eyes it will be wrong, in some people’s eyes it will be right. You’ve just go to weather that storm. You’ve got to do what makes you happy’.

“I decided I would be happier at York, especially if I’m living in the area.

“For me, it was almost a no-brainer to follow Lindsay. I’ve worked with her from the age of 17 when she brought me into the England Colleges & Universities squad.

“She showed me nothing but support and encouraged me to complete my academic career while allowing me to compete as a Castleford Tigers player as well.

“Her commitment to me has paid off and I’m hoping to repay that.”

And for Field, now is an exciting time to be at the club.

“The vision that Jon (Flatman, chairman) has is not just taking the men’s game to the next level - he wants to take all aspects of the game up,” she explained.

“There is such a focus on inclusivity, having a high-level women’s team, having a team in the disability Super League - it’s all right directions in the growth of the club and the game, not just in York but in North Yorkshire.

“With the new stadium, I think the club can only go in one direction, and that’s upwards.”