BWSL: Round 1 Round-up

Wigan Warriors began their defence of the Betfred Women’s Super League title last weekend as they met Leeds Rhinos in front of a home crowd.

Cerys Jones and Anna Davies took the Warriors into the second half with an 8-0 lead before last year’s Woman of Steel, Eva Hunter, made her return, crashing over two minutes into the second half.

The Warriors continued to extend their lead as Ellise Derbyshire cleared the defence and Isabel Rowe converted to take it to 18-0. 

The Rhinos responded immediately as Ebony Stead found a way over on the left edge, but failed to convert.

They made it over once more in the last few moments of the game, but Mel Howard’s efforts were too late to close the gap as the Cherry and Whites secured their first two points in the competition.

York Valkyrie hosted Huddersfield Giants in a dominant performance which saw them prevent the Giants from getting on the scoreboard.

Early tries from Ruby Ellis and Rhiannion Marshall helped the Valkyrie make the ideal start as they continued to cross whilst holding Huddersfield at arms length.

The Valkyrie went on to score a total of eight unanswered tries, getting their new league campaign off to a flying start.

Leigh Leopards took on Featherstone Rovers on Saturday as both teams look to make their mark in the BWSL.

The Leopards, who were newly promoted last year, took on Rovers, who make their return to the competition this season, in a battle which saw the home side walk away with a strong performance at 34-8.

The final game of the weekend saw Barrow Raiders meet St Helens as they faced-off for the second time this year after meeting in the Betfred Challenge Cup Quarter-Finals last month.

The Raiders narrowed the scoreline since that meet but still struggled to get ahead as the Saints again proved too dominant.

The Red V took an early lead as Dani McGifford scored before Saints went over three times in the last 10 minutes of the half, which included a cross for Mikayla Gillespie as she made her Super League debut.  

Barrow’s Leah Cottier got the home side on the scoreboard shortly after the break, but it wasn’t before long that McGifford quickly went over twice more to complete her hat-trick.

The Saints left Barrow with a scoreline of 6-42 as Zoe Harris extended their advantage and McGifford finished the game on four tries.