Bradford Bulls Women appoint Amy Hardcastle as head coach for 2027

Bradford Bulls Women appointed Amy Hardcastle as head coach for the 2027 season on 7 October 2026. The former England centre returns to the club where she began her playing career after Bradford lost 11 of its 12 league games this year. The appointment gives the National Championship side a new coach for next season; its effect on results remains to be seen.

Bradford’s announcement, quoted by Serious About Rugby League, names Hardcastle as the women’s head coach for 2027. BBC Sport also reported the appointment and said the 37-year-old would combine coaching Bradford with playing for Women’s Super League side St Helens. The two reports agree on her new coaching role, but give different accounts of whether her playing career is ending.

Why Amy Hardcastle is returning to Bradford Bulls

Hardcastle’s connection to Bradford predates the coaching appointment. She began her playing career with the Bulls, and Serious About Rugby League reports that she joined in 2009 and represented the club for ten years. The outlet says she won two league titles and a Challenge Cup with Bradford and was part of the team that won a treble in 2017. She later played for Leeds Rhinos and St Helens.

Speaking to the club website, Hardcastle described Bradford as a special club to her and said the chance to return meant a great deal personally. In comments quoted by Serious About Rugby League, she said she knew what it felt like to wear the Bulls shirt and represent the city. Those remarks explain her attachment to the role, while the appointment itself places her in charge of a team coming off a difficult league campaign.

What Hardcastle has said about the coaching job

Hardcastle said she wanted Bradford’s women’s team to reflect the club’s ‘passion, pride, hard work, togetherness and ambition’, according to BBC Sport’s account of her comments to the club. She also acknowledged that there was ‘a huge amount of work ahead’. Those are her stated aims for the role, rather than evidence that Bradford’s results or position have already changed.

Bradford chief executive Jason Hirst welcomed the appointment in comments quoted by Serious About Rugby League. He pointed to Hardcastle’s history with the club and achievements in the sport, and said he believed she would inspire the existing squad, staff and local female players. His remarks describe the club’s hopes for the appointment; the available reports do not identify further coaching staff or explain how the team will be prepared for 2027.

Hardcastle’s England record and playing status

Hardcastle retired from international rugby in September 2026. The Rugby Football League’s England Women page lists an announcement of her international retirement dated 16 September. BBC Sport says she ended her England career as the national team’s all-time leading try scorer, with 30 tries in 29 appearances. International retirement establishes the end of that part of her career; it does not, on its own, settle her club playing status.

The reports differ on that status. BBC Sport says Hardcastle will continue playing for St Helens while coaching Bradford. Serious About Rugby League describes her as having called time on her playing career at the end of 2026. No separate statement resolving that difference is included in the available accounts. Her appointment as Bradford coach is confirmed, but the precise duration and scheduling of any simultaneous playing role are unclear.

What is confirmed for Bradford’s 2027 season

The confirmed change is the head coaching appointment for 2027. Hardcastle will return to the club where she played for a decade, taking charge after a season in which Bradford won one of 12 league games. Her record as an England try scorer and her earlier Bradford titles provide context for the club’s choice, but neither establishes how Bradford will perform under her coaching.