Thompson: Thrive under pressure

• Rachel Thompson discusses the progression of the Women’s game at Wigan, new kits and the season ahead.
• Thompson: “Making that pathway visible at the Club was really important for us to as part of our day-to-day job.”
• Join us at Robin Park Arena this Sunday for the Women’s Challenge Cup with Community activities taking place ahead of the tie.

Wigan Warriors Women’s Rachel Thompson said the Women’s side need to ‘thrive under pressure’ as they kick-start their Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup campaign for 2025 this weekend.

Thompson, who joined the Club in 2017 ahead of their inaugural 2018 Grand Final winning campaign, reflected on the progression of the game over the past 7 seasons: “I think the game has evolved massively as a whole. We’ve seen a lot of changes in the team structure, a lot of players have come and gone and now we’ve got a very young squad. We really take pride in our Academy and that system coming through. It’s been quite refreshing to see and exciting to watch and be a part of.

“The game is probably a lot more professional now than it was when I joined in 2017, the Women’s game has progressed loads. It’s in a good place and I’m excited to see where it goes.”

Day-today at the Club, Thompson is Women and Girls Rugby Operation Manager, and works closely with the Women’s coaches: “Yeah, it’s great. I think that was always in the planning in the long term, for there to be a clear pathway for girls to work towards playing in the Women’s first team here.

“When we first started in 2017 it was just an open trial and players were picked from the best around the area but now we’ve got the P2P [Pathway to Performance] and the Academy set-up so there’s that clear progression for girls to get the opportunity to step up to the first team, just like the boys do. Making that pathway visible at the Club was really important for us as part of our day-to-day job.”

Recently the Women’s team officially launched their exclusive 2025 Kappa Away kit, which was designed by the Women’s team for their upcoming campaign. Speaking on the design process, which started in February 2024, Thompson said: “It was really exciting. Kappa gave us the opportunity to actually get involved and hands-on with it. The girls brought lots of ideas and Denis [Betts] wanted the integration of the three W’s as a vision for the the kit. Very subtly there are three W’s in the design and three different colours to represent Wigan Warriors Women.

“We sit under this Club and play for this great Club but it also gives us a little bit of our own identity. It’s something a bit different that we’ve never done before, so the whole process was a privilege to be a part of. Kappa and Gareth [Edwards, Senior apparel designer at Kappa UK & Ireland] did a great job of bringing those ideas to light and I think it looks great.”

The Warriors start their season this Sunday afternoon (2pm K.O.) as they host Barrow Raiders in the first group game of the Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup. On the competition, Thompson said: “It’s always a tricky one to start off the season with the Challenge Cup because things aren’t always perfect and it’s quite a slow burner but we’ve got to two semi-finals in the past two years and just not quite got there when Wembley is on the cards.

“It’s been tough to take and I think each year it’s gotten tougher because it felt like we’ve been that little bit closer. We know we can get there so we have to thrive under that pressure of people not quite believing we’ll get there and that’s probably what will drive us this year. We know how it feels to not and it hurts and we don’t want that to happen again so hopefully we can put in the performances.”

Looking at their opponents, Barrow Raiders Ladies, she added: “They’re a tough, physical side and they’ve got some really strong forwards and a little bit of experience in the team as well. Barrow is always a tough place to go so luckily we get to play them at home this this time. They don’t make it easy for us and they definitely turn up, they want to beat Wigan as do every other team, so it’s going to be tough but I think the girls will want to put on a decent performance and it should be a good game.”

A Super Sunday awaits at Robin Park Arena with plenty of Community Activities including face painting and inflatables ahead of the Women’s Challenge Cup Clash against Barrow Ladies (From 12.30pm). Tickets are available online now HERE and will be available on the day. Refreshments will also be on sale at Robin Park Arena.

Watch Live

Sunday’s game is available to Watch Live and exclusive HERE on Wigan TV with commentary. Wigan TV Subscribers can simply log in to watch, if you aren’t a subscriber you can sign up today from just £5.99 per month.