Injured Irish rugby league international Charlie Willett has crowdfunded over €10,000 this week after suffering an injury on international duty.
Willett injured her ACL and meniscus during an Ireland test against Wales earlier this month at Donnybook. Willett says she was forced to raise the money herself for the surgery because Rugby League Ireland (RLI) didn't provide full cover for the surgery, as she claims she had been promised.
On Saturday afternoon, RLI called Willett's accusation 'inaccurate'.
Charlie Willett: Irish rugby league player shares awful injury story
The Exeter Chiefs player sustained a season-ending knee injury while winning her second international cap this month, requiring extensive rehabilitation.
She says Rugby League Ireland's had promised 'medical cover' before she made her first international appearance, but she has now claimed on a GoFundMe page that the RLI will not pay the full cost of the surgery.
Despite confirming that there was medical cover before I pulled on the green jersey, Rugby League Ireland have only agreed to fund a small portion of the medical expenses. I am hoping to fundraise some of the shortfall myself.
Willett says that her club is limited in the support they can provide her.
Exeter Chiefs have supported my initial rehab process and will provide the necessary care post surgery. As this injury was sustained whilst playing for Ireland, Exeter Chiefs cannot assist further.
Rugby League Ireland respond
We reached out to RLI for comment on the situation. They issued a strong rebuke of Willett's claims, stating:
We shall be issuing a statement however we can say that various accusations we have read and seen so far are inaccurate, have significant and crucial omissions, and also include highly misleading statements.
A sports lawyer turned professional rugby league player, Willett says she has already lost more the €1500 worth of freelance work because her mobility has been impaired by the injury.
Willett uploaded a TikTok video yesterday explaining her situation that has been viewed over 200,000 times.
In the video, Charlie Willett claimed that she only received a small amount of money from Rugby League Ireland to pay for the surgery:
I'm heartbroken. I think my only option at the moment is a GoFundMe page. I don't know why, but I feel really embarrassed saying this. I'll put the link in my bio, if anyone might want to help.
I know I'm going to come back stronger from this but, right now, it's really hard.
Willett's emotion in the video is palpable. Over €11,000 has been donated since the GoFundMe page went live five days ago.
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