Australia-born Jasmin Strange named in England's 23-player World Cup squad
Jasmin Strange, born in New South Wales, was named in England's 23-strong squad for the Rugby League World Cup on 28 September 2026, becoming one of four potential debutants in the group.
Strange is a second-row forward for the Sydney Roosters and is due to play in Sunday's NRLW Grand Final against the Brisbane Broncos; she qualifies for England through her mother, Adele. She is the daughter of Roosters women's head coach John Strange, who played for Featherstone in the 1990s.
Three other uncapped players were included: Leeds Rhinos' Connie Boyd, Canterbury Bulldogs' Hope Millard and Wigan Warriors' Lucie Sams, with Millard qualifying through her father Shane, a former forward for Widnes, Leeds and Wigan. The squad also contains three other players currently in the NRLW: dual-code international Fran Goldthorp, who last represented her country at the 2022 World Cup, Newcastle Knights' Georgia Roche and Canberra Raiders' Hollie-Mae Dodd.
Strange's selection is as a heritage player, following this year's changes to eligibility rules. An International Rugby League ruling now allows players to represent more than one of the three tier one nations — Australia, New Zealand and England — which prompted speculation that head coach Stu Barrow might recruit further Australian-based NRLW heritage players such as Jocelyn Kelleher, Tayla Preston and Caitlin Turnbull. Barrow has said he wants to give homegrown players an opportunity to develop.
Domestic competition representation is strong: all three Woman of Steel nominees — Jenna Foubister, Eva Hunter and Megan Williams — were selected, and six Wigan Warriors team-mates make the squad. Grand Final winners York Valkyrie are represented by forward Liv Wood, while loose forward Jodie Cunningham, who will retire after the World Cup, and St Helens team-mate Vicky Whitfield, named for her fourth World Cup, are included.
Barrow commented on the selection process, saying: "Narrowing our squad from 40 players to a final 23 has involved some difficult decisions, but we believe we have the right balance of experience and youth to compete on the world stage. "It's also an exciting moment for the programme with the inclusion of Australian-based heritage players for the first time." The men's, women's and wheelchair World Cups will be staged concurrently, with England competing in all three; the wheelchair squad was announced last week and the men's squad will be confirmed on 5 October.
The tournaments are being staged largely in Australia, with Papua New Guinea's men and women each playing two pool matches in their own country and New Zealand's teams each playing one. England's women's group fixtures begin in Perth against Wales on 17 October, continue versus Australia on 24 October and conclude against Samoa in Wollongong on 30 October; the top two teams in the four-team group advance to semi-finals on 7 and 8 November, with the final on 15 November.
The full England squad is: Keara Bennett (Leeds Rhinos), Connie Boyd (Leeds Rhinos), Amelia Brown (Huddersfield Giants), Ruby Bruce (Leeds Rhinos), Mary Coleman (Wigan Warriors), Evie Cousins (Leeds Rhinos), Jodie Cunningham (St Helens), Anna Davies (Wigan Warriors), Hollie-Mae Dodd (Canberra Raiders), Jenna Foubister (Wigan Warriors), Fran Goldthorp (North Queensland), Eva Hunter (Wigan Warriors), Molly Jones (Wigan Warriors), Hope Millard (Canterbury Bulldogs), Lucy Murray (Leeds Rhinos), Georgia Roche (Newcastle Knights), Isabel Rowe (Wigan Warriors), Lucie Sams (Wigan Warriors), Jasmin Strange (Sydney Roosters), Vicky Whitfield (St Helens), Megan Williams (Wigan Warriors), Georgia Wilson (Wigan Warriors) and Liv Wood (York Valkyrie).