Women’s beaten by Leeds

[Warriors News]

• Match Report as Wigan Warriors Women were beaten by Leeds Rhinos at Headingley Stadium.
• After a closely contested first half, the Rhinos scored a flurry of late tries to win.
• FT | Leeds Rhinos Women 24-0 Wigan Warriors Women.

Match Report as Wigan Warriors Women were beaten 24-0 by Leeds Rhinos at Headingley Stadium in the final match of the regular season.

Report

Vicky Molyneux captained the Warriors in the absence of Rachel Thompson, and despite being called into action in the opening minutes to keep Sophie Robinson out, the Warriors competed well in a tightly contested first half.

Handling errors limited chances for Wigan and Leeds in the opening half an hour, however, the Rhinos opened the scoring off the back of a knock on as Amy Hardcastle powered over the line. The score remained at 4-0 after Sam Hulme was unable to convert the kick.

The Warriors looked for an immediate response as powerful carries from Beri Salihi and Anna Davies forced a penalty for offside. However, as Wigan attacked the Leeds line 20m out, an attempted pass to Kaitlin Hilton bounced into touch.

The Rhinos threatened to extend their lead in the final minute of the half when Elle Frain broke through the line to take the hosts 20m out, however, the ball was knocked on in the next phase of play to bring the half to an end.

The Warriors restarted strongly as Mary Coleman forced a goal line drop out in the opening minutes after Leeds struggled to deal with a dangerous grubber kick from Sinead Doria, however, a powerful hit from the Rhinos led to a knock on.

Leeds almost extended their advantage after 48 minutes when Hardcastle initially broke through the line to set the Rhinos up 20m out, but the Warriors stood firm to hold Hanna Butcher up on the final tackle.

The hosts applied pressure on the Warriors defensive line five minutes later when once more the ball fell into the hands of Butcher on the final tackle, however, the Cherry and Whites defended excellently to force the Leeds captain back.

The introduction of Mollie Jones sparked momentum for the Warriors as the centre, and Grace Banks, broke the line to take the Warriors into dangerous territory, however, Tasha Gaines was alert to collect the kick through and relieve pressure.

The Rhinos extended their lead shortly after the hour when Zoe Hornby chased her own grubber kick before touching down between the sticks with Hulme adding the extras to make the score 10-0.

A third try was scored on 67 minutes when Caitlin Casey’s kick deflected kindly back into the path of the stand-off to touch down, and a fourth came four minutes later when Hornby crashed over for a converted try to make the score 20-0.

The Rhinos wrapped up the match with five minutes remaining when Hardcastle crossed in the corner, for her second try, and the score remained 24-0 until the final whistle.

Gallery:

Photo: Stephen Guan Photo: Stephen Guan Photo: Stephen Guan

Leeds Rhinos: Sophie Nuttall, Sam Hulme, Amy Hardcastle, Sophie Robinson, Tasha Gaines, Caitlin Casey, Hanna Butcher, Zoe Hornby, Keara Bennett, Izzy Northrop, Lucy Murray, Elle Frain, Bethan Dainton.

Interchange: Kaiya Glynn, Jenna Greening, Beth Lockwood, Bella Sykes.

18th Player: Emma Lumley.

Tries: Hardcastle (28′, 74′), Hornby (63′ 71′), Casey (67′).

Goals: Hulme (2/5).

Wigan Warriors: Beri Salihi, Rebecca Greenfield, Anna Davies, Eva Hunter, Kaitlin Hilton, Grace Banks, Carys Marsh, Holly Speakman, Olivia Harborow, Lucy Johnson, Victoria Molyneux, Sinead Doria.

Interchange: Bethany Hayes, Cerys Jones, Jodie Morris, Molly Jones.

18th Player: Cailey Miller.

Tries: N/A.

Goals: N/A.

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