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**YORK VALKYRIE have created their fair share of history over the last few years.**
They were the first team to put their players on a contract, the first to win back-to-back Super League titles, and they were the first to give a Canadian player a chance to show their worth in the competition.
Now, hot on the heels of Megan Pakulis – the first North American to play in Super League – York have ventured to yet another new continent in search of Super League’s next overseas star.
After decades of working with the Tag Rugby Trust in Africa and using the game as a way to engage local communities and give children in those areas something to focus on, Valkyrie coach and director of rugby Lindsay Anfield hopes she has found a real gem in Ugandan star Peace Lekuru.
The centre or backrower, who has made the big move to the Minster city in the hope of developing her rugby league career even further, is a Tag Tugby Trust graduate and later became a TRT leader, while also pursuing her own career in rugby union and league.
As well as leading Entebbe Baleen to victory in the Uganda rugby league finals in 2023, Lekuru has also captained the Uganda women’s sevens rugby union side, so she is not new to the game.
But for Anfield, the move is about much more than what Lekuru can add on the field as York go in search of a third-straight Super League title. It’s about the message it sends out to other clubs when it comes to thinking outside of the box as a way to grow the women’s game.
“Peace has been on my radar for a couple of years now,” Anfield told Rugby League World.
“When we went out to Uganda with the Valkyrie in 2023, we watched their national finals and supported the teams with some coaching. Peace got player of the match in their final, and Rhiannion Marshall said to me at the time that we had to get her over because “she’s better than us”.
“It was clear from that game that she had something about her, and since then, I have been trying to have some influence on her from a rugby league coaching point of view. But the only real way to test how good her skills and athleticism are was to get her over here. With the squad capped at 25 players this year, it’s been difficult, but we’ve managed to move things around a bit and get her in.
“There were a few others involved in that final that looked good, but with her leadership background through captaining the Sevens side, as well as her time playing top-level rugby union, Peace was probably the one who could manage this trip better than the others.
“It’s great for me that I have a club and a chairman who are willing to let me go off and explore different options and avenues when it comes to bringing players in. I am always having mad ideas, and I am a big advocate for not just looking at players that live along the M62 corridor or just moving players from club to club.
“We have got to build the game, and there are athletes out there – whether it be in this country or abroad – that could become really good rugby league players if given the chance. If we want to strengthen the game in the UK, then this is what we have to do, and I really hope other clubs will follow and look for similar options.
“It would be the easy option to just approach players from other clubs and offer them things to come and pay for you, but that’s not really my style and not what I am in coaching for.
“I want to push the women’s game and see how we can grow it over here. The NRLW are doing a great job in Australia, and they are looking outside the box by bringing in netballers, footballers, sevens players and girls from overseas, and we have to do the same. That is why I am constantly looking at players who are not currently involved in the game but have the talent to transfer over to it.
“I’d like to think that other teams are starting to do this as well, and hopefully they will realise that with a bit of coaching and the right support, these players could do really well.
“Who knows what’s out there for clubs to find. It’s quite exciting to think about it.”
Lekuru arrived in the North Yorkshire city in time to feature in the Nines Tournament, where the Valkyrie lost out to Leeds Rhinos at the quarter-final stage after group stage wins over Leigh and Wakefield, as well as a draw against Cardiff.
The 25-year-old made her league debut a week later against Leigh Leopards, and in just her second Super League game she scored a hat-trick in the 58-0 win over Barrow Raiders. These performances have left Anfield excited by her early promise and the coach believes Lekuru can have a real say in the second half of York’ season – and perhaps even beyond.
“Maybe the style of the Nines was a good introduction to the game over here for her,” continued Anfield.
“Also, there was no real pressure on her and she wasn’t playing in a big stadium, but she was still able to be involved in a competitive environment.
“She played alongside some of our under-19s, slotted in really well, got a couple of tries and never looked out of place.
“She went really well on her league debut as well. You can tell she’s played rugby for a long time and at a good level because she managed herself really well. She may just lack some of the intricacies of rugby league, and there are a couple of rule things that she needs to be aware of, but with ball in hand, and in space, we could see that she’s a really dangerous player. She’s only going to get better with more game time and once she’s played a bit more, she will really fly.
“She played on the wing against Leigh, which I think suited her with her Sevens background. She was getting the ball in space and is fast, athletic and powerful, so she was really good with yardage carries. There are just tactical things now that she just needs to learn, but she’s come over here to play rugby, she’s learning about the game every day and she’s always asking for feedback, so we couldn’t ask for much more from her.
“She has been very brave to make the move over by herself and the cultural barriers have been pretty big for her, but it’s been an amazing journey for her.
“She’s living in the city with Ellie Williamson and Sarah Menaa, and we have found some local people from Ugandan backgrounds that have been showing her around as well, so I think she is starting to find her feet.
“The other girls have really taken to her and they are enjoying finding out things about her and her culture, so there is a great dynamic in the group.
“Peace is here until the end of the season, and if she does well, and the club think she’s worth bringing back, we’ll do it. How great would that be for her to become a contracted York player and live in the UK to play rugby league? It would be life-changing for her, so we will just need to see what happens.”
In the same weekend that Lekuru made her Super League, her predecessor Pakulis was doing the same thing on the opposite side of the world.
Having joined York mid-way through 2024, the Canada Ravens star, who featured in both the 2017 and the 2021 World Cups, quickly became an integral member of Anfield’s squad and crossed for five tries in 11 appearances. She helped them to Grand Final glory last October and featured in the early stages of the Challenge Cup this year before being handed a chance with NRLW side Gold Coast Titans.
Having since gone on to feature for the Titans, Anfield can see how crucial the British Women’s Super League could be in developing the game worldwide.
“It was a proud moment for everyone at the club to see Megan run out for her NRLW debut against the Broncos,” added Anfield, who snapped up Pakulis after she was picked to play at the Harvey Norman Women’s National Championships in Australia last year, having won the NRL Combine in Las Vegas just months earlier.
“All the girls were so pleased for her, and I was absolutely delighted for her. She didn’t look out of place at all.
“When she got the initial opportunity to go over to Australia, she was told she was not quite good enough, and that’s when she came and joined York and spent time in Super League.
“It just shows that, as much as we’re not the NRLW, we are a great stepping stone to that competition, and we are going in the right direction to where we want the game to go.
“There is still a way to go, but we are helping to produce players that can go over there and be a success.
“The week in, week out of day-to-day coaching and going to games is the nuts and bolts of what I do, but giving the likes of Peace and Megan the sorts of opportunities we’ve been able to give them is the real reward of my job.”
**First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 511 (August 2025)**