By Will Castle

Wigan Warriors prodigy Grace Banks cites childhood experience competing against boys as key to her rise in rugby, toughening her up for a career in the sport.

Banks, 18, has emerged as one to watch across both rugby league and union, becoming a regular in the Warriors team in 2023.

She has since gone on to earn the acclaim of the national setup, earning a call-up to the rugby league feeder team England Knights while also getting the chance to represent England’s youth side at the U18 Six Nations Championship.

Banks is not short of physical resilience, having been thrown in the deep end when first being introduced to rugby.

“My family has always played it,” she said. “My mum played rugby so I was always around female rugby teams growing up.

“When I got to primary school my head teacher was like, ‘why don't you start playing?’ So I started playing in primary school with the lads team and since then, I've always played it.

“I think that definitely set me up for playing the girls game when I had to in year seven.

“It definitely set me up for playing like the Yorkshire teams because they were always bigger and tougher, so I thought that kind of put me on a pedestal.”

Banks is one of 50 athletes across a multitude of sports supported by a partnership between SportsAid and Pitching In, a multimillion-pound grassroots sport programme established by Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral.

The grant has been immensely valuable to Banks in funding her progression, taking the financial burden away at a time when the cost of living can be very difficult to manage.

“Obviously at my age, I'm on an apprentice wage and I'm learning how to drive and my insurance is really expensive,” Banks added. “Stuff like that, it really helps towards it.

“I don't have to worry about how I'm going to make that money to support me getting to places or to buy myself some boots because I know I've got that money from SportsAid to provide me with the stuff I need.

“I'd obviously be struggling [without the grant]. At 18, you don't really make a lot of money and I don't get paid professionally for women's rugby.

“I have to be grateful also towards my coaches who have put me forward for SportsAid. Without them, I wouldn't have had the money.”

Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, is proud to be championing the next generation of British sporting heroes by providing talented young athletes with financial support and personal development opportunities in partnership with SportsAid. Visit entaingroup.com to find out more.