Tonight’s big quiz battle of Super League stars Question time
JOEY LUSSICK EMILY RUDGE ‘A short season would damage our World Cup’ GEMMA WALSH? JULIE STOTT JACKSON HASTINGS ‘He knows not to bug me when I’m cleaning’
ENGLAND captain Emily Rudge believes the nation’s hopes of glory in next year’s World Cup could rise or fall on what happens after lockdown.
The St Helens star has proudly led her country since 2018 – following in the footsteps of her wife and Saints teammate Gemma Walsh.
But Rudge (below right) fears that her ambition of lifting the biggest trophy of the lot could hinge on when, if and how this year’s Women’s Super League season is staged.
The 28-year-old PE teacher said: “We were sent a survey and I said I’d rather play as many competitive games as we can this year, and would be more than happy to extend the season.
“With 2021 coming up it is such a big year for women’s rugby league. A short season could have a really negative impact on next year.”
Plans cannot be finalised until the government decides on social isolation policies after the lockdown.
It means a frustrating wait for Walsh, 36, to make her Saints debut after her surprise switch from arch rivals Wigan.
The stand off was once quoted as saying she “hated
Saints” and one past derby resulted in the couple refusing to speak to each other after a particularly feisty duel.
Walsh laughed: “I think I’ve mellowed a bit as I have got older. Growing up in Wigan or St Helens, the rivalry is massive and it’s just automatic that you hate each other.
Fitness
“But the chance to play alongside Emily was something I couldn’t turn down.”
The season was due to kick off just days after the lockdown was imposed, so second rower Rudge believes players will be good to go whenever they restart.
Rudge said: “We’ve just come out of pre-season training so we will definitely be able to maintain fitness levels.
“We’re enjoying having time during the day to train. Normally we all fit it in around our jobs.”
Walsh, who led Wigan to Grand Final glory in 2018, is waiting to start her new job as a prison officer at HMP Berwyn in Wales.
She was formerly a community prison officer, which mainly involved prisoner transportation, and said: “This will be more hands on and allow me to work with the prisoners more and to try and make a difference to their lives.”
Walsh captained England to third spot in the 2008 World Cup and says she’d love to see Rudge lift the trophy on home soil.
Walsh said: “Emily has still got good things to achieve with England and it’s good that I can support her.”
JOEY LUSSICK has revealed how his emergency training methods almost ended in disaster.
The Salford Red Devils hooker and housemate Jackson Hastings have taken to doing weight sessions in their cul-de-sac.
Their neighbours are used to the sight of two of Super League’s finest getting stuck into various routines.
But Lussick said: “It was working well because there are no cars about, but then a delivery van suddenly appeared and nearly hit me.
“I’m not sure what Salford would have thought of that.”
The two mates, who became pals at NRL side Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, started living together in Manchester when they both joined Salford.
They get on so well that Hastings has stayed put in the house even though he joined Wigan after Salford’s Grand Final last October.
But Lussick admits their friendship is being tested at times thanks to five weeks of lockdown together.
The 24-year-old said: “Sometimes it’s good to have a bit of time apart so that we do not end up killing each other.
Cheeky
“Jackson probably has the shorter fuse but, to be fair, he probably only loses it because I’m being cheeky and pushing the boundaries.
“He is actually handling the lockdown better than I thought he would.
“I thought he’d lose his head because he loves getting out, going to cafes and meeting people.
“But we both realise that there’s no point in kicking up a fuss because we’re all in the same boat.”
Man of Steel Hastings, 24, also knows there’s one part of isolation he definitely cannot interfere with – Lussick’s mania for cleaning. Lussick said: “My OCD is in full flight. It’s harder to keep on top of the cleaning because we’re in the house most of the time.
“I enjoy cleaning and Jackson knows to not get involved, but it winds me up that I’ll clean one day and it needs doing again the next.”
Lussick’s older brother Darcy, who joined Toronto Wolfpack over the winter, lives a couple of miles away, but the lockdown means they haven’t seen each other.
Lussick is using Facetime to keep in daily touch with his family in Australia, including four-year-old twin nephews Zane and Alfie.
He said: “They don’t understand time difference, so I keep getting missed calls and messages saying, ‘We’re up now, get out of bed.’”