ROVERS TRAMPLED IN RHINOS STAMPEDE
FEATHERSTONE ROVERS 0
LEEDS RHINOS 72
SEBASTIAN STERNIK, Mobile Rocket Stadium, Sunday
LEEDS RHINOS continued their impressive start to the season with a 14-try demolition of Featherstone Rovers. Lois Forsell’s side were ruthless in attack and well organised in defence as they maintained their unbeaten start to the campaign.
It didn’t take long for Leeds to get on the scoreboard. Featherstone conceded a penalty in their own half and the Rhinos took full advantage as Orla McCallion powered over the whitewash.
No more than a minute later, the defending champions scored again. Tara Moxon put on a great display of speed as she powered down the right wing to put the Rhinos 10-0 ahead.
The onslaught continued as Ellie Oldroyd stamped her name onto the scoresheet with just ten minutes on the clock. The player did well to find a gap through the heart of Featherstone’s defence and touched down to put the Rhinos further ahead.
For a few minutes, Rovers stopped the rot and enjoyed consecutive sets of their own. They backed Leeds onto their own tryline and pushed for their first effort of the game. Unfortunately for Natalie Gilmour’s side, the Rhinos withstood the pressure, defended well and soon went back on the offensive.
Leeds quickly found more tries starting with Fran Goldthorp. The Rhinos star scored down the right wing in spite of Featherstone’s spirited defensive efforts.
Youngster Adaoha Akwiwu then produced a four-minute brace as Leeds raced to a 36-0 lead. The player first capitalised on an incredible individual run from Goldthorp before finishing down the left wing. Her second effort came from a well-structured Leeds attack, once again down that left hand side.
Hanna Butcher and Caitlin Beevers added two more tries before the half-time whistle as the Rhinos went into the break 42-0 up.
Leeds picked up from where they left off in the second half with Chloe Kerrigan crossing the whitewash.
However, the Rhinos didn’t have it all their own way in that second period. Featherstone began to turn up the heat and forced a number of errors from their opponents.
Gilmour’s side pushed for a breakthrough but they were unable to finish chances. Inevitably, Rovers paid the price for missed opportunities as Leeds found a second wave of momentum.
Oldroyd ended Leeds’ spell of frustration with an effort in the 62nd minute. Conversion from Woman of Steel, Courtney Winfield-Hill, put the Rhinos 52-0 in front.
The tries kept on coming as Butcher added a second to her account. Sophie Robinson then stamped her name onto the scoresheet with a quick finish down the left wing.
Two minutes from the end, Winfield-Hill and Goldthorp teamed up to produce the game’s best effort. The Leeds captain kicked the ball from 40 metres out as her teammate chased and touched down to make it 66-0.
The final blow was dealt by Zoe Hornby whose last-minute effort completed a comprehensive victory for the Rhinos.
GAMESTAR: Fran Goldthorp was unplayable at times and scored two tries to top off a wonderful performance.
GAMEBREAKER: Leeds Rhinos haul of three tries in six minutes half way through the first half set the tone for the rest of the game.
ROVERS
5 Kayleigh Bulman
18 Chloe Billington
30 Fran Copley
4 Jessica Courtman
2 Chloe Reynolds
6 Katie Hepworth
27 Liv Grace
10 Brogan Churm
9 Cairo Newby
8 Zoe Teece
11 Jess Hammond
3 Brogan Kennedy
16 Jaz Hazell
Subs (all used)
21 Jess Matthews
1 Hannah Watt
15 Tilly Butler
29 Deb Smith
RHINOS
1 Caitlin Beevers
2 Tara Moxon
3 Sophie Robinson
4 Chloe Kerrigan
5 Francesca Goldthorp
6 Hanna Butcher
7 Courtney Hill
8 Amy Johnson
23 Orla McCallion
15 Danika Priim
11 Aimee Staveley
12 Elle Frain
25 Zoe Hornby
Subs (all used)
18 Samantha Hulme
24 Adaoha Akwiwu
13 Sophie Nuttall
16 Ellie Oldroyd
Tries: McCallion (6), Moxon (7), Oldroyd (11, 62), Goldthorp (18, 79), Akwiwu (20, 24), Butcher (31, 70), Beevers (40), Kerrigan (43), Robinson (74), Hornby (80)
Goals: Winfield-Hill 8/14
Rugby Leaguer & League Express
Women of the Match
Rovers: Jessica Courtman
Rhinos: Fran Goldthorp
Penalty count: 10-10; Half-time: 0-42
Referee: Andy Sweet
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 0-10, 0-16, 0-20, 0-24, 0-30, 0-36, 0-42; 0-46, 0-52, 0-58, 0-62, 0-66, 0-72
ROUND UP
By LORRAINE MARSDEN, SEBASTIAN STERNIK & CHARLOTTE FLETCHER
CASTLEFORD TIGERS reigned supreme in the West Yorkshire derby with a comprehensive 44-0 victory over Wakefield Trinity.
Hollie-Mae Dodd scored a hat-trick but the star of the show was Georgia Roche who put on a sensational display at the Mobile Rocket Stadium.
Dodd got the scoring underway but the Tigresses were forced to wait almost half-an-hour for their second try.
Wakefield showed great heart and put on a brave display against last season’s League Leaders Shield winners.
Leah Jones, Eva Izumi and Lucy Eastwood added three more tries in the opening half as Cas took a 16-0 lead into the break.
The side led by Marie Colley and Kirsty Moroney started the second-half well as Roche, Dodd and Shona Hoyle added three more tries.
There was also an emotional moment for Georgie Hetherington who scored a second half brace – her first efforts in over two years as the player took time away from the game to become a mother.
Wakefield fought hard but struggled to create clear cut opportunities. With Castleford only conceding four points over their last two games, the coaching team was more than satisfied with the defensive efforts.
Nevertheless, the scoreline does underline progress for Trinity who, two years ago, lost 100-0 to the Tigresses in the Challenge Cup.
WIGAN WARRIORS continue to show they mean business as they aim to reclaim the Super League title they won in 2018.
A fortnight on from their 52-8 win over Warrington Wolves in the opening round, the Warriors looked just as competent in both attack and defence again as they ran in for eight tries against a Bulls side yet to score a single point this season.
Vanessa Temple got the scoring underway for Wigan after just four minutes, before Victoria Molyneux doubled the lead quarter of an hour later.
The Warriors then picked up a loose Bradford ball to race away for Anna Davies to score, while Amy Boardman, Emily Stirzaker and Georgia Wilson added further first half tries, with Wilson converting Davies’ and Boardman’s efforts.
The Bulls, who lost 86-0 to St Helens a fortnight ago, will have been hoping for a change of fortunes after the break, but were unable to make a breakthrough.
Victory was sealed for Wigan when Rebecca Greenfield crossed and Davies got her second of the afternoon, converted by Rachel Thompson.
But anything Wigan can do, their fiercest rivals ST HELENS can do better.
A fortnight on from racking up 16 tries against Bradford, Saints blew Super League debutants HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS away with another near faultless performance.
Unfortunately for the Giants it was one way traffic from the off as rugby union convert Rachael Woosey got a quickfire double within the opening seven minutes.
England captain Emily Rudge added a third just minutes later and there was no stopping St Helens as they added seven more tries before the break.
Rudge completed a first half hat-trick, Amy Hardcastle added two and there were tries for Tara Jones, Naomi Williams and Paige Travis. Faye Gaskin was successful with three of the ten conversion attempts for a 46-0 half time advantage.
It got no easier for the Giants in the second half as St Helens continued to score for fun and retain their lead at the top of the table.
Dannielle Bush opened the scoring after the break when some great work to keep the ball alive saw Rudge feed the winger in to score.
Williams then added her second and Woosey completed her well taken hat-trick before Jodie Cunningham got in on the act with a try under the posts.
Hardcastle, who scored a hat-trick in the game against her former side last time out, went one better and finished with four, scoring her final two either side of Bush’s second.
As the game was in its final moments, Rudge also got her fourth of the afternoon.
Gaskin had a more successful second half with the boot, converting six out of eight attempts as St Helens once again signal their intent for 2021.
RESULTS
Sunday, 2nd May
St Helens 90 Huddersfield Giants 0
Saints: T – Woosey 3, E Rudge 4, Hardcastle 4, Jones, Williams 2, Travis, Bush 2, Cunningham; G – Gaskin 9
Half-time: 46-0
Saints: Rebecca Rotheram; Danielle Bush, Amy Hardcastle, Naomi Williams, Rachael Woosey; Beth Stott, Faye Gaskin; Dawn Akrigg, Tara Jones, Chantelle Crowl, Emily Rudge, Pip Birchall, Jodie Cunningham. Subs: Isabelle Rudge, Paige Travis, Eboni Partington, Alice Sandham
Giants: Philippa Curley; Annabel Loney, Sophie Brunskill, Olivia Cummins, Amelia Brown; Francesca Townend, Chloe Smith; Oyinkansola Kadiri, Rachel Eastwood, Danni Allatt, Reagan Walker, Ellie Taylor, Isabella Skyes. Subs: Lilliebelle Hunter, Summa Hunter, Sienna McPherson, Megan Price
Wakefield Trinity 0 Castleford Tigers 44
Tigers: T – Dodd 3, Jones, Izumi, Eastwood, Roche, Hoyle, Hetherington 2; G – Jones 1, Roche 1
Half-time: 0-16
Trinity: Sarah Ashton; Olivia Whitehead, Aallisha Rhodes, Lisa Taylor, Danielle Green; Abby Price, Toni Thompkins; Stacey Wilson, Beth Lindsay, Danielle Swaine, Maddison Hirst, Emma Kershaw, Hailey Swann. Subs: Rebecca Anderson, Leanne Candler, Ellen Strafford, Annie May Shackleton
Tigers: Leah Jones; Eva Izumi, Georgie Hetherington, Tamzin Renouf, Kaitlin Varley; Georgia Roche, Lucy Eastwood; Grace Field, Sinead Peach, Shona Hoyle, Tilly Churm, Hollie Mae Dodd, Jasmine Bell. Subs: Amie Backhouse, Libby Priestley, Sam Jordan, Sophie Todd
Wigan Warriors 38 Bradford Bulls 0
Warriors: T – Temple, Molyneux, Davies 2, Boardman, Stirzaker, Wilson, Greenfield; G – Wilson 2, Thompson 1
Half-time: 28-0
Warriors: Rebecca Greenfield; Anna Davies, Georgia Wilson, Megan Grace-Holding, Emily Stirzaker; Rachel Thompson, Alison Burrows; Holly Speakman, Carys Marsh, Jade Gregory-Haselden, Vanessa Temple, Paige Costello, Victoria Molyneux. Subs: Emma Dwyer, Lucy Baggaley, Eleanor Dainty, Amy Boardman
Bulls: Bethany Macmillan; Kacy Haley, Savannah Andrade, Sarah Dunn, Hannah Donald; Danielle Bose, Stacey Greenwood; Abigail Pinder, Grace Ramsden, Adara Telemacque, Olivia Wood, Jessica Harrap, Millie Taylor. Subs: Elise Townsend, Alice Fisher, Samantha Herrick, Bailey Alexander
WOMEN’S SUPER LEAGUE TABLE
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Win % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Helens | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 176 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Leeds Rhinos | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 140 | 16 | 100.00 |
| Wigan Warriors | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 90 | 8 | 100.00 |
| Castleford Tigers | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 84 | 6 | 100.00 |
| Warrington Wolves | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 52 | 0.00 |
| Wakefield Trinity | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 0.00 |
| York City Knights | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 68 | 0.00 |
| Huddersfield Giants | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 90 | 0.00 |
| Featherstone Rovers | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 112 | 0.00 |
| Bradford Bulls | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 124 | 0.00 |
FORTHCOMING FIXTURES
Sunday, 9th May
Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup – Quarter Finals
Leeds Rhinos v Bradford Bulls
St Helens v Featherstone Rovers
Warrington Wolves v Castleford Tigers
York City Knights v Wigan Warriors
Date and time to be confirmed
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