ST HELENS 18 YORK VALKYRIE 8
LORRAINE MARSDEN, Totally Wicked Stadium, Saturday
ST HELENS needed a late try double from Phoebe Hook to maintain their position at the top of the league, and keep themselves in pole position ahead of next Friday’s showdown with Wigan.
It was a fairly even game for much of the opening hour, before Saints found an extra burst of energy to see off York and claim what could be two vital points in the hunt for the League Leaders’ Shield.
York went closest to scoring in the opening quarter when Tara Moxon found her way over the line but knocked on before she could touch down. Minutes later Saints went close themselves, but a misplaced pass from Jodie Cunningham handed possession back to the visitors.
Saints had a further chance on 27 minutes following two quick penalties. The first saw the hosts restart play 10 metres out, the second was in kickable range for Faye Gaskin. The kicking tee came out, but the ball came back off the upright and into Saints hands. Once again the Valkyrie defence held firm and it remained scoreless.
With five minutes remaining of the first half, York found themselves down to 12 when a late shot on Cunningham by Evie Sexton saw the Valkyrie forward sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes.
Saints went close from the resulting penalty, but couldn’t find the defining way through to take advantage of having the extra player advantage.
Just when it looked as though the half would end without a score, Saints were penalised for a high shot on Tamzin Renouf and Rhiannion Marshall slotted the ball between the uprights to send the reigning champions in 2-0 up at the break.
From the restart, Naomi Williams lost the ball in a tackle and immediately put York on the attack just five metres out. Renouf went close, but was held up over the line, and once again strong work in defence from Saints prevented the visitors from extending their lead.
With Sexton back on and with York up to a full complement of players, they finally found a way through on the back of a seven-tackle set. Having worked the ball downfield, an offload by Peace Lekuru found Savannah Andrade, who spotted gap between Caitlin Casey and Cunningham to squeeze through and get the first try of the game. Marshall added the conversion to give the Valkyrie a two-score lead.
But Saints soon hit back when a bouncing Gaskin kick caused confusion in the York defence and gave the hosts a repeat set, which ended in Emily Rudge crashing over from close range. Gaskin made up for her earlier miss to reduce the deficit back to two points.
After that early scoring flurry, the game settled back into a similar style to the first half, with the forwards dominating but unable to break down their opposition defence until Saints found the breakthrough.
Minutes after an Emma Kershaw ankle tap stopped Luci McColm from scoring, the ball was worked out to the right for Hook to score in the corner. Gaskin’s goal attempt fell short, but the table-toppers had their noses in front for the first time.
And five minutes later it got even better for Saints as a knock-on by Lekuru allowed Saints to pile on more pressure and the ball was again worked out to Hook on the right wing to grab her second, which Gaskin converted from the sideline.
The final minute saw Gaskin add a third goal following another penalty, this time for offside, while York captain Sinead Peach was heading down the tunnel after being shown a red card for speaking out of turn to the referee.
GAMESTAR: Rebecca Rotherham showed some great hands throughout the second half and was an important player in much of Saints’ improved attack.
GAMEBREAKER: Phoebe Hook’s late try double took the game away from York.
MATCHFACTS
SAINTS
22 Rebecca Rotheram
2 Phoebe Hook
23 Luci McColm
18 Rachael Woosey
25 Dani McGifford
6 Zoe Harris
7 Faye Gaskin
16 Darcy Stott
9 Katie Mottershead
10 Chantelle Crowl
11 Shona Hoyle
12 Emily Rudge
13 Jodie Cunningham
Subs (all used)
8 Vicky Whitfield
14 Naomi Williams
17 Caitlin Casey
20 Erin McDonald
Tries: Rudge (54), Hook (69, 74)
Goals: Gaskin 3/5
VALKYRIE
2 Eboni Partington
30 Peace Lekuru
16 Lisa Parker
21 Tara Moxon
5 Emma Kershaw
1 Georgie Dagger
3 Tamzin Renouf
8 Liv Wood
9 Sinead Peach
17 Izzy Brennan
12 Savannah Andrade
20 Evie Sexton
22 Agnes Wood
Subs (all used)
7 Ellie Williamson
14 Izzy Bibby
25 Zoe Hornby
11 Rhiannion Marshall
Tries: Andrade (47)
Goals: Marshall 2/2
Sin bin: Sexton (35) – late tackle
Dismissal: Peach (78) – dissent
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-2; 0-8, 6-8, 10-8, 16-8, 18-8
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Women of the Match
Saints: Rebecca Rotheram; Valkyrie: Savannah Andrade
Penalty count: 8-5
Half-time: 0-2
Referee: Oliver Salmon
Image credit: Kevin Humphries