Wigan Warriors stalwart embracing Wembley Cup fever after bouncing back from horrific injury ordeal

Thompson, who was the first player to sign for the Warriors Women ahead of the 2018 season, couldn’t have dreamt for a better debut campaign with her hometown club. She scored 16 tries in 17 games and helped the Warriors win the Super League Grand Final, becoming the first Wigan player to score a hat-trick in a Grand Final.

In 2020, she was named captain of the Women’s team, but they were unable to play due to Covid restrictions.

And the following year, disaster struck as she was forced from the field in a game. Simply put, her knee was blown to smithereens, leaving her with doubts that she would ever be able to take to the field again.

“I dislocated my kneecap, I snapped my ACL, MCL and LCL,” Thompson told Wigan Today.

“I think, at the time, I was very much ‘this is probably it now’. I just had to focus on getting back to being able to walk and run, but I never really thought too much into it, I just took each day as it came, and thankfully, I was surrounded by the best support system in the club, who looked after me with the physio care and recovery process.

“I literally spent 21 months on the sidelines, and it was tough. I didn’t know whether I’d play again. When I look back I probably didn’t think I would, but at the time, with the people I had around me, it was just doing it step by step and seeing where I got to, because no-one ever told me that I wouldn’t play rugby again, so that’s kind of the mindset I adopted.”

After spending almost two years working incredibly hard on recovery from her injury, Thompson returned to action in 2023.

And then last year, she lifted her second trophy with the club as the Warriors won the Women’s Nines tournament.

But this Saturday will mark the biggest game of the 30-year-old’s career, as Wigan face St Helens in the Women’s Challenge Cup final under the famous Wembley arch.

Thompson added: “I’ve been here a long time now, a lot of things have changed since I came back in 2018, a lot of different players and coaching staff, I’ve seen the game grow and the Grand Final in 2018 was great but I don’t think there’s anything bigger than walking out at Wembley.

“The women’s game has grown, and the players have grown with it. The talent is improving all the time, and the players who are coming through are just getting better and better, and I think the game is moving with that.

“It takes a lot of work from the RFL behind the scenes to get the women’s game where it is. I know it’s still got a long way to go but when you look at where it’s come from and what it is now, to give the girls the opportunity to walk out at Wembley, this is something that could be a once in a lifetime opportunity, so it’s massive for the game, but it’s also massive for the girls in our team.

“I’ve got about 20 of my family and friends who are travelling down this weekend. I’ve got a big family, I’ve got five siblings, so a lot of my family are coming down and I’ve got family down in London, who are also coming to watch. It’s massive for me, but for them as well, so I just hope they enjoy the occasion.”