Wigan Warriors lift the Women’s Rugby League Nines trophy

Wigan Warriors lifted their first trophy of 2018 on Sunday (July 28) following a string of sensational performances on Women’s Nines Finals Day at Sewell Group Craven Park.

Mary Coleman, Grace Banks, Eva Hunter and Isabel Rowe were outstanding throughout as Warriors avenged last year’s 21-8 defeat to Leeds Rhinos with a remarkable win against their Super League rivals Hull.

After getting through the group stages, including defeats to York Valkyrie and Huddersfield Giants, Cherry and White then beat Cardiff Demons 40-0 in the knockout to set up a rematch against Rhinos.

It was an end-to-end contest throughout the first half, with the deadlock finally broken on seven minutes – a smart offload from Mary Coleman set Eva Hunter free on the right to make it 4-0 to at break time.

Wigan got off to a flying start on the restart with Banks making an explosive run and weaving his way through the Leeds defense to make it 8-0 and from there the Warriors looked unstoppable. Coleman, Banks and Davies all whitewashed in the second half as the game eventually finished 21-0 to the Warriors.

The Rhinos started the day with a 12-4 defeat of St Helens before an emphatic 23-0 win against Cardiff which featured tries from Izzy Northrop, Ella Donnelly and Ebony Stead. These results put them top of Group A to set up a semi-final against Huddersfield Giants – who they successfully overcame 12-0.

The Demons undoubtedly caused the upset of the day when they pulled off a stunning win against St Helens to deny Matty Smith’s side a place in the knockouts. Leanne Burnell was outstanding, her pace breaking past the Saints defense on four separate occasions as the Welsh side eventually recorded a 17-9 victory.

Women’s final day results:

Group A

Leeds Rhinos 12 St Helens 4

Cardiff Demons 0 Leeds Rhinos 23

St Helens 9 Cardiff Demons 17

Group B

York Valkyries 8 Huddersfield Giants 17

Wigan Warriors 26 York Valkyrie 8

Huddersfield Giants 0 Wigan Warriors 31

Semifinals

Wigan Warriors 40 Cardiff Demons 0

Huddersfield Giants 0 Leeds Rhinos 12

Final

Leeds Rhinos 0 Wigan Warriors 21