Ex-heptathlete McGifford eyes Saints glory at Wembley

Betfred Women's Challenge Cup final: St Helens v Wigan Warriors

Venue: Wembley Stadium, London Date: Saturday, 7 June Kick-off: 11:45 BST Coverage: Live on BBC Two from 11:15 BST; radio commentary on BBC Radio Merseyside; live text on BBC Sport website & app

Poised with feet in the blocks, stood on the cusp of the shot-put circle, or staring down the long runway to the sandpit, Dani McGifford - by her own admission - never quite handled the nerves of the elite heptathlon.

Talented enough to train with world stars such as Katarina Johnson-Thompson on the domestic scene, but unable to truly transfer those abilities to results.

Athletics' loss has been rugby league's gain.

The 30-year-old again has a sporting focus, representing St Helens, the town she grew up in, playing the sport she grew up loving, for the side she grew up watching from the terraces.

"I watched the 2021 World Cup [deferred to 2022] and that is kind of what inspired me most to take it up," McGifford told BBC Sport.

"I'd spoken to [Saints coach] Craig Richards and he was wanting to get me involved and I almost didn't believe I could do it but having watched the World Cup, something sparked in me and I thought I'd give it a go. Here we are."

Here we are indeed. Having started in Saints' Challenge Cup semi-final against York Valkyrie, McGifford hopes to cap a remarkable ascent in the past three years with a Wembley final appearance against rivals Wigan on Saturday.

"You look left, you look right, you see team-mates and think there's no need to be nervous here," she continued.

"This is just a very special occasion and an opportunity not many people are going to get. Not many women can say that they've walked out at Wembley. Just to be able to do that would be so special."

'No substitute for speed'

St Helens' excitement at reaching Wembley was evident in the reaction of McGifford after the win over York

With her heptathlete pedigree, McGifford came into rugby league with plenty of natural tools to transfer across.

Not that it was an easy switch.

"There's no real substitute for speed, so that's been very handy to have, but it's completely different," McGifford continued.

"I've been used to running for 12 seconds and going home and having a nap, not running around for 80 minutes, doing a sprint, doing a tackle, getting up and going again.

"There's a lot more to it and it's a completely different energy system. I still don't think I'm quite there yet but I'm working hard on it."

Playing and training while juggling a full-time job is a necessary sacrifice, even if it means feeling a little sore sometimes in her role as a competition manager with Liverpool Schools Sports Partnership.

Added to those rigours is the fact that at any time mid-flight in a game, her run could be cut short by a thumping tackle.

"I'm still getting used to the whacks, I'm not going to lie," McGifford laughs. "I just watch all the other girls do it and they inspire me every day.

"The likes of Emily Rudge, Jodie Cunningham, those people around me and what they've gone through to get the game to where it is now, they're nothing short of incredible. Being alongside them really does mean a lot."

Wembley as a fan, Wembley as a player

Dani McGifford is still getting used to the physicality of rugby league after her heptathlete days

Although born in Crewe, McGifford's rugby league-mad family were steeped in St Helens and she embraced it too, with season tickets at the old Knowsley Road.

Saints' success as a men's team meant plenty of trips down to Wembley in the Challenge Cup for the clan, but for Dani, the thought of women getting the chance to do the same just did not register.

Her rugby league journey only slightly pre-dates that of St Helens' women's side, which was only brought to fruition in 2018.

Stalwarts of the side such as Rudge and Cunningham have been long-term contributors on a journey which has brought four Challenge Cups in a row and two of those since the inaugural Wembley final in 2023.

Yet for all their experience and know-how, there are still members of the Saints squad for whom glory under the arch is a spine-tingling thought.

"I get goose-bumps just thinking about it now," McGifford said.

"Even players like Amy Hardcastle, Shona Hoyle and Caitlin Casey have only watched Saints lifting the cup at Wembley when they were at Leeds.

"There are some of us who've not had the opportunity so we're all really hungry to achieve that."

Window into a secret world

Dani McGifford hopes to emulate Saints team-mates of the past two years in walking out of the Wembley tunnel onto the field

The joy McGifford gets from being part of a sport she loves is infectious, and every week brings a new adventure as the women's game continues to develop.

"I'm now getting to see the other side of it," she added. "Just getting to play in some of the stadiums I've been to watch in, like Warrington and Huddersfield, and now I'm actually getting a look behind the scenes, stepping on the pitch, the dressing rooms.

"I've been in Castleford's [notoriously small] dressing rooms, you see punch-holes in the doors and it's mega. Everything about it, I'm loving it."

McGifford's transition to league in her late 20s means she is grasping her chances later than some of her peers, some of whom are still in education and at the start of their careers.

Yet there is a different appreciation of the opportunity given her past experiences in competitive sport.

"I'm aware I'm not young, and I'm not brand new to the game, but I'm still learning with regards to my rugby," McGifford said.

"I worked really hard in athletics and don't think I got what I deserved from it, but I feel now I'm reaping some rewards."

Few rewards would be quite as special to a rugby league-mad St Helens fan than winning a Challenge Cup at Wembley.

Those who wonder about the 2021 World Cup's enduring legacy only need to listen to McGifford and the impact it has had on her life.