Leeds Rhinos centre Sophie Robinson believes this weekend’s Challenge Cup Final will be the perfect way to open up the women’s game to a whole new audience.
Both the Challenge Cup final between the Rhinos and Castleford Tigers, and the preceding Plate final between Bradford Bulls and Stanningley, will be live streamed through the OurLeague membership app, meaning some of the game’s very best stars will potentially be on show to thousands of supporters more than usual.
“Saturday will be a special day for Women’s Rugby League,” said Robinson.
“It’s a perfect opportunity to showcase what the game is all about. For people who maybe haven’t watched it before, that might not have the best perception of Rugby League, this is a chance for us to show that we are at a high standard and very competitive.
“Women’s Rugby League has so much potential and hopefully we can show that on Saturday.”
With the Rhinos Women’s side currently top of the Super League in their inaugural season, even getting to the Warrington showpiece is a massive achievement for everyone involved.
But for Robinson, the day provides an ideal opportunity to show just how far the club has come since going down 24-8 to the Tigers in a pre-season game that was their first fixture as a team.
“We set some goals at the start of the season and getting to a final was one of them, but I’m not quite sure we can believe quite how far we’ve come so quickly,” added Robinson.
“When we played Castleford in pre-season we’d not been together long and we hadn’t really gelled as a team. But when we then played Bradford in the first league game things just clicked and that’s when we realised that this team is special and we could achieve what we’d set out to do.
“Coming up against the Tigers again, this time in a Cup Final, is our chance to show how far we’ve come since that first game.
“Like us, Cas are also a bit of an unknown team, who are still learning so they’re a great team to be coming up against.
“But we do know they are a great team and have talent throughout the squad so we have got to turn up on the day.
“We know they’re going to turn up and perform, so if we don’t then the result may not go our way. We know we’re going to have to play the best we have al season to get the win.”
