Izzy Rowe sets fresh goals as Wigan Warriors Women look to build on historic year
Wigan Warriors Women halfback Izzy Rowe is targeting further improvement this season as the champions look to build on last year’s historic success.
The Warriors opened their new campaign in emphatic fashion on Saturday with a 78-6 victory over Featherstone Rovers in the Challenge Cup group stages and will now host Cardiff Demons in their first home fixture of the season this weekend at Edge Hall Road Community Stadium.
The strong start comes off the back of a remarkable 2025 campaign, in which Denis Betts’ side completed a clean sweep of silverware, lifting the Challenge Cup, Nines title, League Leaders’ Shield and Super League Grand Final.
Rowe admitted the scale of that achievement was not widely expected at the outset of last season.
“Obviously, every team wants to win things, that’s a given when you’re playing at a top level,” Rowe said on A Brew with Drew podcast on Wigan TV. “But we told ourselves that we wanted to be competitive every week, and it was kind of like we’d win games, those wins would lead to semi-finals, we’d win the semi, and then we got to a final, so everything just kind of followed after each other.
“I feel like quite a few people wouldn’t have actually thought that we could’ve done what we did last year. I went to the Super League launch last year, and I was asked what would put a smile on the girls’ faces and Denis’ face, and I said winning all four would probably do the trick, and people laughed, but we were the ones smiling at the end because we won it all.”
Despite that success, Rowe says the squad have quickly moved on, with a focus on maintaining standards rather than reflecting on past achievements.
“We just want to stay consistent and top off last year,” she added. “We’ve got in the mindset of, yeah, we won everything last year, but it means nothing now. It’s a fresh plate, so we want to go into it and be competitive and try to win.
“It’s like Denis said, winning is good, but if you continue doing that – that’s what makes you great. We’ve definitely got our eyes on the prize, we’re hungry, and we want to keep winning.”
Rowe is also targeting further development in her own game as she continues to establish herself as a key figure for club and country.
“On an individual level, I just want to continue to build my game and improve my game management, looking at the players around me and taking as much as I can,” she said. “In an international sense, I’m playing with really experienced players for England, and I just want to learn as much as I can, and hopefully that will get me on the plane at the end of the year.”
Off the field, Rowe and teammate Jenna Foubister also spend time working together at a Post Newburgh coffee shop, owned by Betts!
“Jenna has improved her latte art recently, it’s been really good, but I’d say I edge it a little bit,” Rowe smiled.
Wigan will look to build on their opening win when they welcome Cardiff this Saturday as they continue their Challenge Cup campaign.