ST HELENS 12 LEEDS RHINOS 28
SAM BROCKSOM, BrewDog Stadium, Sunday

CONNIE BOYD scored two tries as Leeds produced their best performance of the season so far.

The Rhinos had a lot to prove coming into this game after being dumped out of the Challenge Cup by St Helens earlier this year – and they duly recorded a first win in the fixture since the 2023 play-offs.

Coach Lois Forsell welcomed back overseas pair Mel Howard and Georgia Elliston to the squad, and both made a significant impact.

Saints left out Leah Burke, Alyx Bridge and Mia Drescher and included Rebecca Rotheram, Paige Travis and Shona Hoyle-Holdsworth.

Three first-half scores from a trio of homegrown players helped give Leeds a 16-0 lead at the break, before a further two touchdowns sealed the victory.

Saints, after being kept scoreless for the first hour, claimed a try through Dani McGifford and hoped to stage a comeback, but they couldn’t manage it.

The opening ten minutes featured plenty of aggression, with the sides testing each other out.

Leeds broke the deadlock, with Boyd’s first score coming thanks to a well-worked team move. The returning Howard fired a pass to winger Ebony Stead, who got the ball back inside to her centre partner to finish off the move. Howard kicked the goal.

Hoyle-Holdsworth looked to respond quickly, but dropped the ball short of the line.

Leeds had more of the opportunities in the opening 40, but their execution let them down.

It wasn’t until the 33-minute mark that they scored again. After a high tackle on Lacey Owen, Leeds used the field position to their advantage, and a lovely ball from Howard to Stead enabled the winger to go over.

Ruby Enright added Leeds‘ third on the stroke of half-time, and Howard’s conversion meant Leeds took a 16-0 lead into the break.

Saints started the second half well, but much like the first, they couldn’t capitalise.

Leeds made them pay for their lack of a cutting edge, with Howard’s one-two with Frankie Blakey seeing her over for a try which Howard improved.

At 22-0 down with 15 minutes to go, Saints looked to start a fightback and tries from McGifford and Katie Mottershead, both converted by Faye Gaskin, brought them back to within ten points.

McGifford scored from a passing move down the left edge, while Mottershead crashed over from dummy-half.

With the game still in the balance, Leeds looked set to seal victory with Stead having the ball in hand over the Saints try-line. However an excellent last-ditch effort from Rotheram forced an error.

Stead did help cement the two points after intercepting a Zoe Harris pass. She broke free before offloading excellently to Boyd for her second, which Howard goaled.

GAMESTAR: Connie Boyd backed up her inclusion in the initial Woman of Steel shortlist with another excellent showing.

GAMEBREAKER: Boyd’s second score sealed Leeds’ first win against St Helens since 2023, and it was some effort too.

MATCHFACTS

SAINTS
23 Liv Leach
21 Hollie Bawden
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)
1 Rebecca Rotheram
8 Vicky Whitfield
9 Katie Mottershead
28 Jadine McVernon

Tries: McGifford (66) Mottershead (70)
Goals: Gaskin 2/2

RHINOS
1 Ruby Enright
2 Ebony Stead
16 Connie Boyd
27 Nicole Kennedy
5 Liv Whitehead
6 Mel Howard
7 Ruby Walker
13 Shannon Brown
9 Keara Bennett
10 Kaiya Glynn
11 Lucy Murray
12 Lacey Owen
8 Ella Donnelly
Subs (all used)
14 Ruby Bruce
17 Grace Short
21 Frankie Blakey
26 Georgia Elliston

Tries: Boyd (13, 74), Stead (33), Enright (39), Howard (53)
Goals: Howard 4/5

SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 0-10, 0-16; 0-22, 6-22, 12-22, 12-28

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Women of the Match
Saints: Katie Mottershead; Rhinos: Connie Boyd

Penalty count: 6-3
Half-time: 0-16
Referee: Liam Breheny