The England women's side that defeated France 38-4 in Toulouse recently carried an old-school look with eight players from Wigan, five from Leeds and three from St Helens. Yet one Wigan forward stood out with a distinctly modern background: Mary Coleman, a Kent prop working for the Home Office who earned a first-class degree in psychological and behavioural sciences at Cambridge and only encountered rugby league after relocating north in her early twenties.

Coleman never grew up around the sport. She first tried rugby union in sixth form after a breakup prompted her to join the school girls' team. Her initial contact session sparked an immediate passion for the physical challenge of running hard at opponents.

At Cambridge she joined the women's union squad and quickly progressed to the varsity match against Oxford at Twickenham, having been the only fresher with prior experience.

Her move into league came swiftly while playing union in Preston. A coach suggested Wigan, a name she did not recognise. Persuaded by a friend, she tried a pre-season game and became hooked on the new code.

Four years later she earned an England cap. Coleman credits the sport's relative youth for her rapid rise, noting that women's league sits roughly where union was a decade earlier, allowing late starters like her to advance quickly before younger players with lifelong experience dominate.

The 28-year-old secured her debut after helping Wigan complete a treble last season. The club has since retained the Challenge Cup and leads the Super League, though early years brought heavy defeats that tested the group of union converts.

She describes being thrown into Super League action while still learning league basics, yet many teammates from similar backgrounds remain and have built the necessary depth over time.

Coleman highlights ball-handling speed and coordination as the main gaps for those who did not grow up with the sport, praising academy players who now surpass what her generation achieved at the same age.

Coach Denis Betts repositioned her as a prop to maximise her straight running and high work rate, a tactical shift that suited her strengths perfectly.

Club investment has transformed support, with faster medical scans, improved facilities and nutrition now available even though players remain unpaid. Coleman credits these changes for professionalising the environment.

A civil-service posting to Blackpool rather than London led her to settle in the north, where she embraced the culture, friendly people and local food before moving to Salford and balancing Home Office immigration projects with evening training.

Colleagues now follow her matches via the club newsletter and Sky Sports coverage, while her wife, former player Sinead Doria, coaches in the academy, allowing the couple to share the rugby journey despite demanding schedules. Coleman reflects on fulfilling a childhood dream of representing her country on the biggest stage, even if the path led through an unexpected sport.