York Valkyrie quartet named in England Performance Squad

Savannah Andrade, Eboni Partington, Tamzin Renouf and Liv Wood have all been included in Stuart Barrow’s 33-player National Performance Squad, with the team’s first training camp of the year taking place in Leeds on Saturday.

England Women will meet monthly ahead of the resumption of the Women’s Challenge Cup in March, before reconvening for a mid-season international against France on the weekend of July 25-26, which will serve as a key warm-up as preparations intensify ahead of the World Cup.

The squad features 31 players from the Women’s Super League, with Partington one of 11 to have progressed through England’s Diploma of Sporting Excellence (DiSE) pathway.

Andrade, Partington, Renouf and Wood were key cogs in the Valkyrie squad that finished third in the Women’s Super League and reached the semi-finals of both the Women’s Challenge Cup and Women’s Super League play-offs last year.

There is also an inclusion for former York second-row Hollie-Mae Dodd, who made history whilst at the club when she joined Canberra Raiders ahead of the 2023 NRLW campaign. The 22-year-old, who will return to Australia for her fourth season with the Raiders, will continue to be a key figure in England’s forward plans.

Fellow NRLW star Fran Goldthorp returns to the England set-up for the first time since 2024 alongside St Helens winger Leah Burke, who missed last season through injury, whilst 2025 treble winners Wigan Warriors have 11 representatives including Woman of Steel Eva Hunter and Young Player of the Year Izzy Rowe.

Head coach Barrow said of the announcement: “2026 is another huge year for the England Women squad with the Rugby League World Cup taking place in October, and our preparations are stepping up a notch now that we are less than 10 months away from our opening game against Wales.

“With players currently still in the off-season, this squad will continue to grow and develop throughout the year based on individual performances in the Betfred Women’s Super League and Challenge Cup.

“As part of our ongoing preparations, we’re very much looking forward to travelling to France in July. The timing of this fixture gives us a great opportunity to assess where we are as a squad just a few months out from the World Cup.”

England Women performance squad:

Savannah Andrade (York Valkyrie), Mia-Jayne Atherton (Wigan Warriors), Grace Banks (Wigan Warriors), Keara Bennett (Leeds Rhinos), Ruby Bruce (Leeds Rhinos), Leah Burke (St Helens), Caitlin Casey (St Helens), Mary Coleman (Wigan Warriors), Evie Cousins (Leeds Rhinos), Jodie Cunningham (St Helens), Anna Davies (Wigan Warriors), Ellise Derbyshire (Wigan Warriors), Hollie-Mae Dodd (Canberra Raiders), Ella Donnelly (Leeds Rhinos) Jenna Foubister (Wigan Warriors), Fran Goldthorp (North Queensland Cowboys), Amy Hardcastle (St Helens), Shona Hoyle-Holdsworth (St Helens), Eva Hunter (Wigan Warriors), Molly Jones (Wigan Warriors), Erin McDonald (St Helens), Katie Mottershead (St Helens), Lucy Murray (Leeds Rhinos), Izzy Northrop (Leeds Rhinos), Eboni Partington (York Valkyrie), Tamzin Renouf (York Valkyrie), Isable Rowe (Wigan Warriors), Bella Sykes (Leeds Rhinos), Paige Travis (St Helens), Vicky Whitfield (St Helens), Megan Williams (Wigan Warriors), Georgia Wilson (Wigan Warriors), Liv Wood (York Valkyrie).