BWSL: Round 1 Round Up

Round 1 of the Betfred Women's Super League was underway at the weekend, as York Valkyrie kicked off their title defence with a thrilling 20-16 victory over rivals St Helens at the LNER Community Stadium on Sunday, which was streamed live on The Sportsman. 

Tries from Carrie Roberts, Emma Kershaw and Tamzin Renouf put the reigning Champions 12-0 up at half time, but Saints fought back to lead 16-14 heading into the final couple of minutes thanks to scores from Katie Mottershead, Leah Burke and Rachael Woosey. 

But ex-Saint Roberts found the match-winning score in the penultimate minute with the Valkyrie remaining unbeaten in BWSL matches since losing to St Helens back in July 2022. 

Wigan Warriors came out victorious in their history-making first DW Stadium outing following an 18-4 win over Barrow Raiders. Despite a scoreless first half, an impressive second 40 from the Warriors saw Denis Betts' side score four tries in 20 minutes to claim the two points at the DW. 

Anna Davies crossed twice, with Isabel Rowe and Kaitlin Hilton also scoring for the Warriors on the night. Michelle Larkin scored Barrow's only try late on in a solid defensive effort from both teams throughout the 80 minutes. 

Leeds Rhinos kicked off their Super League season with a bang as they ran in 13 tries in a 66-4 victory over Huddersfield Giants that involved hat-tricks for Evie Cousins, Zoe Hornby and Lucy Murray. Hornby arguably scored the try of the match in the second half when the prop forward took the ball in on the 30-metre line, broke the defence before sprinting away and rounding the cover defender to score under the posts.

In Warrington, Armani Sharrock's side beat promoted Featherstone Rovers 34-28. The Wire led 14-12 at the break before looking to have put the game beyond the West Yorkshire side with three unanswered tries to stretch their lead to 30-12. 

Rovers fought back though and closed to within two points thanks to scores from Alyssa Courtney, Olivia Grace and Fran Copley but Nicole Barnett made the points safe for the hosts with a late try. 

Round 1 Results:

Leeds Rhinos 66 Huddersfield Giants 4

Wigan Warriors 18 Barrow Raiders 4

Warrington Wolves 34 Featherstone Rovers 28

York Valkyrie 20 St Helens 16

Round 2 of the Betfred Women's Super League will begin this Saturday (27 April) when Leeds Rhinos host Warrington Wolves at AMT Headingley Stadium (KO 12pm).

The full list of Betfred Women's Super League fixtures can be found here.