ST HELENS 18 YORK VALKYRIE 28
LORRAINE MARSDEN, BrewDog Stadium, Friday

YORK have one foot in the semi-final after an important, and at times hard-fought, win that now puts them two points clear of fourth-placed St Helens.

With the reverse fixture taking place in York next Sunday, a repeat performance from the Valkyrie will confirm their spot in the play-offs, but they might find themselves having to do it without Tamzin Renouf, who picked up a shoulder injury in the second half.

Savannah Andrade led the way with a first-half hat-trick, but the magic of Tara Jane Stanley and the sheer power of Megan Pakulis were also crucial, as York prevented retiring trio Jodie Cunningham, Emily Rudge and Zoe Harris from enjoying a dream final game at the BrewDog Stadium.

York dominated from the start, with their smothering defence regularly keeping Saints penned in their own half, but despite Refouf going close after just six minutes, the Valkyrie didn’t open the scoring until the twelfth minute.

Playing on the last, Ellie Williamson got the ball out to Andrade, who fended off Caitlin Casey and Anna Dennis to weave her way in.

When Amy Hardcastle, looking into the sun, was unable to gather Stanley’s high kick just minutes later, York were able to apply more pressure and from the resulting scrum, Sinead Peach spotted numbers out wide for the Valkyrie and got the ball out to Williamson, who sent Andrade in for her second.

A ten-minute scoring flurry from York continued when trademark neat footwork from Stanley saw her break through two attempted tackles to stretch over for the visitors’ third try.

Chances for St Helens were few and far between, but an error from Emma Kershaw got them close to the York line for their first real opportunity. From close to the line Vicky Whitfield took Cunningham’s short pass to charge through, with Gaskin’s conversion reducing the arrears to twelve points.

But in the final minute of the half, York delivered a real suckerpunch. Pakulis broke the line to gain ground before the ball was worked out to Andrade, who threw a dummy and beat Rachael Woosey to compete her hat-trick.

Stanley added her fourth conversion from as many attempts after the hooter sounded to give Leon Pryce’s side a healthy half-time lead of 24-6.

It was a lead that was cut after just four minutes when, after a York goalline drop-out, Cunningham put Alyx Bridge through a gap between Monique Donovan and Izzy Bibby and Gaskin goaled.

Saints had certainly come out firing in the second half and momentum was starting to swing, but when a successful captain’s challenge gave York their first chance of the half, they halted that shift when Adaoha Akwiwu powered over after more impressive footwork from Stanley, who was off target with the conversion.

The hosts started to slip back into their first-half form with errors and incomplete sets handing more possession to York, who weren’t error-free either as the game started to get a bit scrappy.

Despite that, Saints did pull six points back when Shona Hoyle-Holdsworth went in under the posts on the power play off Casey’s pass and Gaskin again converted.

But just as they thought they might be in again, York were successful with a second captain’s challenge, this time overturning a late-hit call, and Saints were unable to make similar inroads again, allowing York to hold on for two crucial points.

GAMESTAR: Savannah Andrade may have scored a hat-trick, but Megan Pakulis ran hard and hit hard all night, giving her teammates much of their go-forward.

GAMEBREAKER: Andrade’s hat-trick try on the stroke of half-time increased York’s lead to a gap they couldn’t quite close.

MATCHFACTS

SAINTS
31 Anna Dennis
4 Amy Hardcastle
32 Lily Sheron
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)
2 Phoebe Hook
8 Vicky Whitfield
9 Katie Mottershead
20 Alyx Bridge

Tries: Whitfield (34), Bridge (44), Hoyle-Hodsworth (69)
Goals: Gaskin 3/3

VALKYRIE
23 Monique Donovan
3 Emma Kershaw
21 Petra Woods
25 Adaoha Akwiwu
2 Eboni Partingon
1 Tara Jane Stanley
7 Ellie Williamson
8 Liv Wood
9 Sinead Peach
15 Megan Pakulis
11 Tamzin Renouf
12 Savannah Andrade
24 Lisa Parker
Subs (all used)
10 Jas Bell
14 Izzy Bibby
18 Izzy Brennan
19 Brooke Henderson

Tries: Andrade (12, 17, 39), Stanley (21), Akwiwu (57)
Goals: Stanley 4/5

SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-6, 0-12, 0-18, 6-18, 6-24; 12-24, 12-28, 18-28

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Women of the Match
Saints: Anna Dennis; Valkyrie: Megan Pakulis

Penalty count: 5-6
Half-time: 6-24
Referee: Lucas Seal