Tara-Jane Stanley is an English professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who plays as a for

York Valkyrie York Valkyrie are the women's rugby league team of York RLFC (known as York City Knights from 2002 to 2022) based in York, England. The Valkyrie, who were established in 2016 as York City Knights Ladies, compete in the RFL Women's Super League ...

in the

Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), also known as the Barclays Women's Super League for sponsorship reasons, and formerly the FA WSL, is a professional association football league and the highest level of women's football in England. Currently oper ...

. She has played at representative level for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and club level for

Thatto Heath Crusaders Thatto Heath Crusaders is an amateur rugby league club situated in Thatto Heath, St Helens, Merseyside. The club currently competes in the National Conference League Premier Division History ''Thatto Heath'' RLFC began life in 1981, original ...

and

Castleford Tigers Women The Castleford Tigers Women are a female rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England. Nicknamed the Tigresses, the club formed in 2016 and in 2017 were one of the four teams that participated in the inaugural season of the Women's ...

Playing career

Stanley began her rugby career playing for Moorfield Angels. In 2011, Stanley was in the Halton Hillside Hawks team that reached the Championship Final of the

Women's Rugby League Conference The Women's Rugby League Conference was a competition for women's rugby league teams in Britain that ran from 2008 to 2011. The men's equivalent is the Rugby League Conference. History : The ''Southern Conference League'' began as a 10-team p ...

. Despite losing the game 44–8 to Warrington Wolves, Stanley was named player of the match. As a student as Cronton Sixth Form College in Widnes, Stanley represented the England Women's Students against the Combined Services team. In 2012, Stanley was part of the Widnes Vikings team that won the Challenge Shield by defeating Stanningley 22–4 in the final. Stanley, who scored two tries, was named player of the match. In 2013, she was named the

BARLA The British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA) is an association for social and recreational rugby league. It works jointly with the Rugby Football League through the RFL Community Board. History BARLA was created on 3 March 1973 at t ...

Ladies Player of the Year. She was shortlisted for the inaugural Woman of Steel award in 2018, but lost out to

Castleford Tigers The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England. They play their home games at Wheldon Road (currently known as the Mend-A-Hose Jungle for sponsorship reasons) and compete in the Super League, t ...

teammate Georgia Roche. In December 2021, it was announced the Stanley had signed for

York City Knights The York Knights are the men's professional rugby league team of York RLFC, based in York, England. The club play their home games at York Community Stadium and currently compete in the RFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of Briti ...

for the 2022 season. Stanley won the Woman of Steel award in 2022. Stanley was nominated for Woman of Steel again in 2023 but this time lost out to York teammate Sinead Peach. In October 2023, York Valkyrie became the first English club to offer professional contracts to players and Stanley was one of the first three to sign a two-year deal.

Representative career

Stanley, who made her

debut in 2012, has heritage number 43. She has represented England at the

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

and 2021 World Cups. In 2018, Stanley was Player of the Match as England beat France 54–4 in Carcassonne. Stanley was named in the Women's Team of the Tournament at the 2021 World Cup.

Test match appearances

References

External links

Tara-Jane Stanley
RLWC2021 player profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley, Tara-Jane 1993 births Living people Castleford Tigers Women players English female rugby league players England women's national rugby league team players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Widnes York Valkyrie players 21st-century English sportswomen