ST HELENS 30 LEEDS RHINOS 14
JACOB KILBRIDE, Eco-Power Stadium, Sunday

DEATH, taxes and St Helens reaching the Women’s Challenge Cup Final.

For the sixth successive season, they are into the showpiece, securing another Wembley date against rivals Wigan.

However Saints were on the end of a 42-6 trouncing last year against eventual treble winners Wigan and will not be going to capital as favourites.

This was a solid yet unspectacular success which could have been far more convincing had the victors not shipped three second-half tries after building a commanding 24-0 advantage.

The eight-times cup winners were far from their best but their A-game was rarely needed to further extend their winning record over Leeds which stretches back to September 2023.

Saints appeared to have made a dream start when an Ella Donnelly play-the-ball error in set one handed the field position for Zoe Harris to step past the onrushing Lucy Murray and grubber into Faye Gaskin’s hands, only for veteran halfback to drop the ball over the try-line.

A lack of discipline from the Rhinos eventually proved their shortcoming. Back-to-back penalties left them camped in their 20 and there was no stopping Erin McDonald barrelling onto Caitlin Casey’s dummy-half pass from close range. Gaskin added the first of her five conversions from five kicks.

Leeds twice looked set to draw level through Liv Whitehead, but the winger was sent into touch just shy of the right corner from a promising overlap position before a raking wide Mel Howard kick appeared smartly finished, only for video referee Liam Rush to overturn the on-field decision and rule a knock-on.

After 27 minutes, Saints struck again, with Gaskin and Harris successfully combining as the latter dotted down the former’s short kick.

Any belief that the half-time break could put fresh life into Leeds or indeed the contest quickly faded inside the early second-half exchanges.

From a kick in backfield under little pressure, Ebony Stead dropped Whitehead’s drop-off pass under no pressure, laying the platform for Gaskin to step through some soft Leeds defence to finish.

Leeds will have been equally frustrated when ex-England captain Emily Rudge broke through the efforts of two defenders to reach an arm to the whitewash.

By the time Connie Boyd spun over for Leeds from Murray’s offload – converted by Howard – it was damage limitation.

The fight remained evident as Leeds cut the gap further with two late tries.

Ruby Enright finished off a classy left-side shift via another neat Murray pass before Whitehead finally got on the scoresheet, touching down from Stead’s cut-out pass after the full-back robbed Katie Mottershead with a one-on-one steal in her own ten.

The afternoon belong to St Helens though, and they fittingly had the final word as mastermind playmaker Gaskin got out of acting half and went short to send McDonald crashing over a tired defence for her double.

GAMESTAR: Faye Gaskin. The St Helens halfback created tries for Zoe Harris and Erin McDonald, claimed a determined solo score to break any hopes of a Leeds fightback and was faultless from the kicking tee.

GAMEBREAKER: After seeing a Liv Whitehead try overturned by the video referee, Saints struck through Zoe Harris and built a two-score lead which never looked in danger of being overhauled.

MATCHFACTS

SAINTS
1 Rebecca Rotheram
5 Leah Burke
4 Amy Hardcastle
3 Rachael Woosey
25 Dani McGifford
6 Zoe Harris
7 Faye Gaskin
11 Shona Hoyle-Holdsworth
17 Caitlin Casey
16 Erin McDonald
14 Paige Travis
12 Emily Rudge
13 Jodie Cunningham
Subs (all used)
8 Vicky Whitfield
9 Katie Mottershead
18 Luci McColm
20 Alyx Bridge

Tries: McDonald (17, 78), Harris (27), Gaskin (42), Rudge (50)
Goals: Gaskin 5/5

RHINOS
2 Ebony Stead
5 Liv Whitehead
27 Nicole Kennedy
15 Connie Boyd
1 Ruby Enright
6 Mel Howard
7 Ruby Walker
13 Shannon Brown
14 Ruby Bruce
10 Kaiya Glynn
12 Lucy Murray
11 Lacey Owen
8 Ella Donnelly
Subs (all used)
9 Keara Bennett
17 Grace Short
20 Jess Sharp
22 Lois Naidole

Tries: Boyd (55), Enright (68), Whitehead (72)
Goals: Howard 1/3

SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 12-0; 18-0, 24-0, 24-6, 24-10, 24-14, 30-14

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Women of the Match
Saints: Faye Gaskin; Rhinos: Ebony Stead

Penalty count: 9-4
Half-time: 12-0
Referee: Ryan Cox