Wigan Warriors' legacy statement made with 'driving ambition' for premier club aired

The Warriors lifted the Women’s Challenge Cup for the very first time on Saturday, having produced an outstanding display to beat rivals St Helens 42-6 under the famous Wembley arch.

The Cup triumph marks the first major trophy for the Warriors Women since their maiden Grand Final triumph in 2018, with the women’s side having come on leaps and bounds under the guidance of Betts, who took over the head coaching reins ahead of the 2024 season.

Speaking in the post-match press conference at Wembley, Betts provided an insight into the one-club mentality at the Warriors, with all of the teams coming under the club’s famous banner and supporting each other from top to bottom, and vice versa.

When asked if the Cup win could be the platform to make Wigan a dominant force in women’s rugby league, Betts replied: “The challenge has always been about being competitive. There’s always talent, if you can’t find rugby players in Wigan, men or women, then you are doing something wrong. Girls want to play for Wigan, there’s a lot of talent in the area, there’s lots of talent around the area, it’s just making sure we offer them the opportunity to fulfil their ambitions.

“The beauty of this place... It’s through Kris Radlinski (CEO), it’s through Mike Danson (owner), it’s the club. The girls will tell you, we’ve had players coming down and supporting the girls in training, we’ve had players sending messages, Matty Peet has been on the phone to me talking about the team, this is not just the women’s team and the men’s team, this is the club, and what we’ve got at Wigan at the moment is very, very special. We’ve got so much support across the group to keep moving forward as an organisation.

“I think when Mike came in, he saw that, he saw that we’re pretty good there (in the women’s department) and what we need to make the club as a whole the premier club, not just the premier men’s team, but the premier club within rugby league, and I think that’s our driving ambition.

“The girls understand that if they wear that badge, they’ve got their own identity, they know who they are and it means a lot to them to be an individual within that group but we sit under a banner that has expectations, and those expectations are that you play in finals, you compete every single week, and you are part of something that came before you.

“When you talk about legacy, you talk about the fact that this club has such a great history. Legacy is not something that you put into, it’s something that’s given to you.

“It’s given to you by people around you and all you have to do is fulfil your role within that and I think today, we showed as a team and part of this organisation, that whatever happens moving forwards and whatever happens in the women’s game in the future, these girls have laid something down to show that there is a future for this sport and this club is at the front of that.”

Betts was a seven-time winner of the Challenge Cup during his decorated playing career, but he was keen to make sure the story wasn’t about him. It was the girls’ day, not his, he insisted.

“We talk about standards and we’ve changed our standards, we’ve changed our understanding of what’s expected of us from each other and, as individuals, we need to be able to deliver, I think that’s the most powerful thing,” Betts continued.

“That’s not me just talking about it. They have to deliver, I don’t play, I have conversations with them through the week, but they have to do the work. This is their win, they performed, all I’ve done is given them some guidance, it’s down to them and what they’ve done with their commitment that makes a massive difference, and that’s what makes me so proud. They believe me, and that’s a really powerful thing.”