Meet the Wigan Warriors star working in the crane industry who has become Wembley winner with hometown club

The 20-year-old winger, who only played her first game of rugby at her former school Rose Bridge six years ago, is currently in her second season with Wigan, having scored 21 tries in 29 appearances since arriving from Leigh Leopards ahead of the 2024 campaign.

But nothing could have quite prepared her to be gracing the hallowed Wembley turf in front of 8,000 fans in the Challenge Cup final. She produced a fine display on the left edge to help the Warriors claim a 42-6 win over rivals St Helens, and secure the Warriors Women’s first-ever Challenge Cup, their first major trophy since 2018.

“It was such a surreal experience,” Derbyshire said. “To play on such a big stage with all your best friends, you couldn’t ask for more. We just about stopped the celebrations, and I’m now back at work, so it has been a big reality check!

“I don’t think many of us remember the coach trip back! But it was such good vibes, I think the whole weekend, everyone felt so calm in camp leading up to the game, so I think we were confident in ourselves, and to finish with the win, we couldn’t really ask for a better end to the week.

“My mum, dad, brother, aunties, uncles, cousins, grandma and grandad were all there at Wembley, and we have some friends from down south, so they came along too. Everyone was there, and it was so good. They are so proud of me and what we achieved.”

Although women’s rugby league has enjoyed a meteoric rise over the last decade, the game isn’t professional yet, meaning the majority of girls within the Warriors camp juggle full-time jobs alongside their playing duties, which takes incredible commitment.

Derbyshire works in the crane industry and works five days a week, as well as training with the Warriors from 6pm until 9pm two nights per week, a session on the weekend, and then playing a game on top of that, but representing the Warriors is Derbyshire’s childhood dream coming true.

“I’m a Wigan girl, so it’s all I’ve ever wanted,” she added. “I played at Leigh Miners growing up, so Leigh Leopards was kind of the next progression step for me, but when I got the opportunity to move to Wigan, it was a no-brainer really.

“I’m a purchase ledger clerk for Ainscough Crane Hire. I’m here five days a week, so my job involves invoicing and we kind of deal with the money that goes out of the business, paying suppliers and that kind of stuff.

“I started in September, so I’ve not been here long really, I’m still learning, but I love it here. It helps a lot with stability, and obviously, I have the income, but they’re really good with me playing rugby and are really supportive of that.

“I can work from home as well, so if I’ve got to shoot to training or nip somewhere in the day, I’ve always got that option to work from home.”

But the big question is: did Derbyshire turn up for work two days after making history at Wembley?!

Derbyshire laughed: “Do you know what I did? I texted my boss on Monday morning saying ‘please can I book the day off?’ and she was like ‘yeah, no problem’, so it was all good!”

Derbyshire, who represented Ince Rose Bridge and Leigh Miners at junior level, has scored eight tries in nine games for Wigan so far this year, and despite already having lifted the Challenge Cup this year, Derbyshire says Denis Betts’ side aren’t resting on their laurels, with the team hungry to achieve more success after their Wembley heroics.

“We know what we can do now, it’s just about carrying on building,” she added. “We still know there are things we can do better and things we can improve on, so we can’t be complacent, we’ve just got to keep getting better, and that’s how we need to look at the rest of the year.”