Few gave Wigan Warriors Women any hope of making cup progress to face St Helens women at Wembley as they came up against their nemesis, Leeds Rhinos, in the second Challenge Cup semi-final.
The Rhinos were massive favourites with the bookies, pundits, and most of the Warriors supporters after the Rhinos won the league fixture between the two sides by a massive 52-0 just a fortnight ago and because you have to look back five years in the record books for the last times that the Warriors were victorious over today’s opponents.
There was some criticism that the Rhinos were given home advantage for what should be a neutral ground semi-final but with a large contingency expected from Wigan for the later men’s semi-final against Hull KR, there should be plenty of support for the Warriors.
After a scrappy opening, with little to choose between the sides, I was the Rhinos who took the lead on seventeen minutes when Amy Hardcastle carried the ball to the line and pushed her way over from ten metres out to ground despite the attention of two Wigan tacklers. Ruby Enright pushed her kick across the face of the sticks, Leeds 4-0 ahead.
Caitlin Beevers spilled a kick through to give Wigan another set deep inside the Leeds half and as Wigan kept the ball alive Beri Salihi took an offload from Rachel Thompson to dive over from three metres and score in the left corner. Salihi was unable to add the extras, the sides tied at 4-4 with twenty-four minutes on the clock, it wasn’t the one-way traffic which had been anticipated.
Neither side could break the deadlock in the remainder of the first half, the sides going into the sheds all square in what looked like it would be a low scoring encounter.
Leeds were dominant in the early exchanges in the second half but the Warriors defence held firm and denied them more points until the sixty-first minute, Beevers took a miss-out pass to speed down the left wing, come inside, and avoid the tackle of Salihi to score by the posts. Eloise Hayward added the conversion, and the Rhinos were 10-4 ahead.
Two minutes later Tara Moxon took the pass from Hannah Butcher after a passing move through many hands to score in the right corner. Hayward was off the mark from the touchline, Leeds with a ten-point advantage.
A penalty in the shadow of the sticks gave Hayward a penalty to extend the lead to twelve points with eight minutes remaining, Leeds marching to Wembley to face the old enemy St Helens in a repeat of last year’s Challenge Cup final.
Wigan Warriors Women: Salihi, Greefield, Davies, Jones, Hilton, Banks, Marsh, Speakman, Dwyer, Jones, Molyneux, Coleman, Thompson. Subs: Burrows, Bardsley, Johnson, Hunter. 18th Man: Morris.
Leeds Rhinos Women: Enright, Moxon (T), Butcher, Beevers (T), Robinson, Casey, Greening, Hornby, Bennett, Anderson, Hardcastle (T), Murray, Dainton. Subs: Cudjoe, Northrop, Glynn, Hayward (2G). 18th Man: Lockwood.
Half-Time: 4-4.
Full-Time: 4-16.
Score Progression: 0-4, 4-4: HT: 4-8, 4-10, 4-14, 4-16 :FT.
Lead Exchanges: Leeds – Square - Leeds.
Referee: Eliott Burrow.
