A WOMEN'S Rugby League player from Addingham is celebrating being chosen to represent her country again.

Twenty-five year old Joanna Will, of Old Station Way, will tour with the Great Britain team leaving for New Zealand in August this year.

The loose forward plays for Wakefield Panthers, the most successful women's Rugby League team in the history of the game.

Last month the Panthers won the National Women's RL Challenge Cup for the eighth time and they top the league each year.

Miss Will has been playing the game for nine seasons since taking part in a charity match while at college. "I have always played sports like football and rugby but I love playing Rugby League," said Miss Will.

Her inclusion in the national squad means that as well as holding down a full-time job as a supervisor in Pontefract, she needs to maintain her fitness level by training six times a week.

Two years ago she was part of the successful Great Britain tour to Australia which won all three tests against the Kangaroos.

In New Zealand, the squad will play nine matches, including three tests, and Miss Will is confident of success.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.