Wigan Warriors star Ellise Derbyshire back ‘fitter and stronger’ with sights set on Wembley return and World Cup dream

The 21-year-old, who has scored 24 tries in 33 appearances since joining Wigan from Leigh Leopards ahead of the 2024 season, endured a difficult end to last year after suffering a serious ankle injury at the Nines festival in July.

“When I first did it, I didn’t think it was that bad, I was trying to run about on it the next day in my house,” Derbyshire told Wigan Today. “I thought I’d be back within a couple of weeks, but I had a scan on it and it came back that I’d ruptured four ligaments in my ankle. I needed to have an operation around a month later, so I knew my year was written off at that point, so it was then about focusing on a really long pre-season.”

The recovery process proved challenging, particularly in the early stages when Derbyshire was unable to put weight on the injury.

“I was just in my boot to begin with and then I had my op, and I was basically off-feet for a whole month,” she recalled. “I couldn’t put any weight on it without my boot or without my crutches, and it was a bit annoying because I was having to rely on my mum and my family – I couldn’t do anything by myself, but you’ve just got to deal with it the best you can.”

However, the setback has ultimately worked in her favour. Focusing on upper-body conditioning, Derbyshire believes she has returned in even better shape.

“I look at it now as like a blessing in disguise because I smashed my upper body for like three months because I couldn’t do anything on my lower body,” the Wigan-born speedster said.

"I was doing so much off-feet conditioning. Me and the SkiErg were best friends for like six months – but I’ve come back fitter and stronger than I ever was, so I see it as a bit of a blessing in disguise now.”

That improvement has been clear since her return, with Derbyshire featuring in both of Wigan’s matches so far this season, scoring three tries.

“I thought like if I wasn’t running that I’d come back and I’d have put weight on, and that was my biggest fear because I’m a winger, I’m meant to be fast and nippy, but I’ve come back, I’m stronger than I was before, and I’m fitter than before,” she added.

Her road back was not entirely straightforward, with setbacks delaying her full return to training.

“I was back jogging in like October time, it was right before the Grand Final, but then I had a few setbacks because it was still really sore and started hurting again, so we had some setbacks and I was only back in full training in January really,” she continued.

Despite missing the second half of 2025, Derbyshire still watched on as the Warriors enjoyed a historic campaign, lifting all four trophies on offer.

“It was such a good year, you couldn’t ask for a better season,” she smiled. “I’m just hoping we can kind of recreate it and do it all again. I hated being on the sideline watching, but it was really good to see the girls go on to win everything and still be around it.”

One of the standout moments of that campaign was Wigan’s Challenge Cup triumph at Wembley – a stage Derbyshire experienced first-hand.

“I think the weird thing was, it was like the most chill weekend ever,” the Wiganer added. “I’ve never seen a group of girls be more chill, but I think it was kind of because we were the underdogs, so we were just going into it thinking ‘we’ll go to win and if we don’t, no one has expected us to anyway’.”

Backed by strong support from family and friends, the occasion left a lasting impression on Derbyshire.

“They’re my biggest fans, honestly. I think I say this all the time,” she laughed. “There were so many of them there, they all came, and we also have friends who live in London as well, so they came along – but they all love it more than me, I’m telling you! They were still coming to watch us when I was injured.”

As Wigan prepare to host London Broncos Women in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals this weekend, Derbyshire is eager to return to the national stadium.

"You walk into Wembley and you don’t really know what to think,” she said. “It’s exciting for us all because we are still a young group, and we’ve got so many years to come. It was like our first time for everything last year, so we tried to take it all in and enjoy the experience, rather than just thinking about the game. I that helped us – just the excitement of the Wembley week.”

2026 started with a bang for Derbyshire, who earned a place in England’s 33-player national performance squad in January, despite not having played since her injury at the time of the call-up.

“It was good,” she smiled. “It was a bit of a shock because I thought I’d have to come back and prove myself a bit first before I got a sniff at England, so I’m privileged to be in that squad. I’ve loved all three camps that we’ve done so far this year.

“The girls said to me, ‘check your emails’, and I was like, ‘for what?’, and I was just shocked when I read it. I hadn’t played since July last year. I’d been picked in the Origin squad before I got injured, but I didn’t get to train because I got injured the week after, so it was kind of like ‘wow’ when I got the England email. I think it’s instilled me with a bit of confidence because if they believe in me that much that I will come back the same player after 10 months of being out, then it’s a nice feeling.”

With an 11-strong Wigan presence in the England set-up, Derbyshire has found the transition easier.

“A lot of the girls have been saying that,” said the former Dean Trust Rose Bridge pupil. “I think it was Molly (Jones) and Eva (Hunter), when they first got into the squad, it was just them two, and there were no other Wigan girls, so it was kind of hard for them. But there are 11 of us in the squad now, so when we come in now, it’s like a home from home because you know them all.”

Competition for places is fierce, particularly in a World Cup year, but Derbyshire is relishing the challenge.

“It’s very intense, and because of the year it is as well, everyone is competing a lot, even at training, but it’s good because it brings out the best in everyone,” she added.

With the tournament set to take place in Australia and Papua New Guinea this autumn, Derbyshire admits representing England on the biggest stage is firmly in her sights.

“I suppose it is in the back of everyone’s mind,” she continued. “You can’t not think about it, but I think you’ve got to have a good year first, you’ve got to play well in the league and for your club because if you don’t, then you’re not going to get a seat on the plane. It’s definitely a goal, I think, for a lot of the girls in the Wigan squad this year.”

For now, her focus remains on club success with Wigan, and another shot at Wembley.

“You can’t top last year,” she replied when asked about her 2026 goals. “I really do want to get back to Wembley again, so we’ve got a big few weeks to get back there, but personally, I just want to have a healthy, injury-free year, play my best rugby and hopefully contribute to the team to help us get in more big games and finals.”

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