York Valkyrie's Georgia Taylor relishing next challenge after ditching swimming

13 March 2024 , 11:22

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York Valkyrie's Georgia Taylor (Alan Milner/York RLFC) (Image: Alan Milner/York RLFC)

After a lifetime of relentless lengths in the pool, Georgia Taylor wanted more than solo pursuits - and found rugby league.

Five years on from ditching swimming, she’s taken to her new sport like a duck to water and made big strides on dry land. Taylor helped York Valkyrie win the Women’s Super League for the first time last season and also made a try-scoring international debut for Wales. A flying winger, the PE teacher’s just as pacey on the pitch as she was in the pool.

York begin their new season with a Challenge Cup tie at Sheffield on Sunday. And Taylor, who didn’t switch sports until aged 23, can’t wait to crack on. She said: “I swam all my life - as a kid, at uni' - and I’ve always loved sport. But I just wanted something different. Swimming wasn’t quite doing it for me.

“My family all swam and it’s pushed through the family. I competed at county level but just never really had a love for it. I’m more of a team player. One of my best friends plays for York and I just went down with her for a training session.

“I got asked to play, loved it and we weren’t even winning at that point. But I loved playing and seeing how much challenge I could put on myself. I’ve stuck with it, grown with the club and the opportunities that have come with it, like being selected to play for Wales, have been amazing.”

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Taylor, 28, admitted: “I didn’t even realise the level I was going into. I just thought it was a local rugby team! My dad did ask me if I’d realised I was going into Super League - the top end of women’s sport in the UK? Now I do! We play on the TV and I never thought that would ever happen when I went down to that first training session. It just shows it’s never too late to try something. Anyone fancying rugby league should just go for it.”

York Valkyrie's Georgia Taylor (Alan Milner/York RLFC) (Alan Milner/York RLFC)

Women’s Super League held its 2024 season launch at York’s LNER Community Stadium yesterday. St Helens have joined Valkyrie, Leeds and Wigan in paying their players match fees this term as the competition becomes increasingly professional. But Bridlington-born Taylor reckons her side, who begin their title defence against Saints on April 21, can get even stronger after a maiden title success.

She said: “I guess we will have a target on our back. But we’re not complacent and we've another job to do to remain champions and hopefully go win the treble as well. You want to be the best and if that’s the case, you have to strive to win everything possible.”

David Craven