Leeds Rhinos Women 68 Barrow Raiders Ladies 0

By Sam Brocksom

Leeds Rhinos Women head to Wembley after an emphatic 68-0 win over Barrow Raiders!

Five of Izzy Northrop’s tries were part of her 13 in total, which takes the Rhinos to the top of the Betfred Women’s Super League table.

Lois Forsell made four changes after the defeat to St Helens, who they face in the capital next week. Caitlin Beevers, Grace Field and Zoe Hornby were all rested, giving precious minutes to Beth Macmillan, Elychia Watson and a debut for Grace Short. Bethan Dainton is also back after picking up a knock that forced her to miss last week.

The Rhinos hit the ground running early, scoring three times in the first ten minutes. First, after Barrow couldn’t take the opening shot, Lucy Murray powered through in the opening set. Two minutes later, Evie Cousins ​​completed a move down the right flank. Ella Donnelly completed the trio of tries in spectacular fashion, breaking through the defensive line on her own forty before sprinting and rounding the full back to score under the posts. Keara Bennett was only able to convert the last of the three tries, making the scores 14-0 after ten away.

A double from Izzy Northrop followed, the first another long-range attempt, scoring from forty yards. The second was much simpler – easily going under the sticks after a short ball from Bennett. Hooker added both conversions to extend Leeds’ lead to 26.

Two more tries from the Rhinos got the first half going. Murray got his second of the game and 10th of the season after crossing the right wing, as he so often does. The final try came from Caitlin Casey who produced a dummy to fool the defense and create a goal for her to cross. Neither try was converted, leaving Leeds 34-0 up at half-time.

Leeds took a bit longer to overcome in the second half than in the first. We had to wait ten minutes before Northrop attempted his hat-trick. The prop received an offload from Casey, who was able to break the plate and give Northrop try number three. With Bennett out, the kicking duties fell to Liv Whitehead, who added the extras.

Bella Sykes was next to add her name to the afternoon’s try scorers. After being restrained in the first half, the prostitute was not stopped the second time, collapsing under the posts. Whitehead added the conversion before a debut try for Grace Short received a standing ovation from the Headingley crowd. The second row was too strong for the Barrow defense and he headed over to give Leeds a 50-0 lead.

Leeds never took their foot off the gas despite the score. Three tries in the last ten minutes led to a convincing win. Beth MacMillan netted for her first try in Leeds colors before Northrop’s fourth and fifth wrapped up the game. Props to the right place at the right time on both occasions as she took the offload close to the line to double her try tally for the season in one game! The final three tries were all converted by Whitehead, leaving the final scores 68-0 to the Rhinos.

The Rhinos now head to Wembley to face St Helens in the Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup final.

Leeds: Whitehead, Moxon, Robinson, Hardcastle, Cousins, Butcher, Casey, Sykes, Bennett, Northrop, Watson, Murray, Donnelly. Subs: Lockwood, MacMillan, Greening, Short.

Tries: Northrop x5, Murray x2, Casey, Cousins, Donnelly, Sykes, Macmillan, Short.