For four years in a row between 2021 and 2024, St Helens experienced Women’s Challenge Cup glory. In the two years since, though, Wigan Warriors have dispatched Saints in two Wembley finals.
For last year’s 42-6 success, read this year’s 54-6 thrashing. It is clear there has been a changing of the guard.
St Helens are an experienced side who have tasted plenty of success, but they are now being blown away by a Wigan side filled with youth and pace.
In Saturday’s final, 20-year-old Eva Hunter scored four tries, 19-year-old Jenna Foubister was named player of the match and 19-year-old Izzy Rowe starred again and kicked brilliantly, while 20-year-old Grace Banks also crossed for a try.
For St Helens, outgoing leaders Jodie Cunningham and Emily Rudge are both 34, Zoe Harris is 32, Faye Gaskin is 34 and Amy Hardcastle is 37. Regeneration is needed, and the Saints coaching staff admitted that after a bitterly disappointing day.
“We’re a real honest group. We train as a squad, but the players do recognise that there’s going to be change coming,” St Helens co-head coach Craig Richards said.
“They want the best for the team, they want to do what they can, and you have to see it in training, it’s not just about the 17 that takes the field.
“These players are working, the other players are going to be in it at some stage, and they want to be at the standard.
“So there’s no difficult questions, there’s no silver bullet. It’s just reviewing the team and drip-feeding one or two players into the squad, but without running at a young age and putting too much pressure on them.
“There’s a plan in place, but it has to be a slow plan.
“Hopefully it doesn’t take us too long to get back to where we need to get to.”
By comparison to Wigan’s youthful charges, St Helens have a squad filled with experience but lacking the same form
Betts: My players have changed the women’s game
Wigan head coach Denis Betts believes his team of youngsters have changed the game of rugby league in this country, through their stunning style of play and skills.
“They have transformed this game. This game in England is different now,” he said.
“I think after last year, I spoke to a vast number of people, lots of people that came from Wigan, and they were like: ‘I didn’t realise the women’s game looked like that’. And it didn’t, until these girls made it look like that.
Wigan’s Eva Hunter, at the age of 20, proved a standout player on the day, with her electric pace too much for St Helens to contain
“And that’s down to them. I came in and asked them how they wanted to play and then we broke it down, and we gave them the skillset to be able to do that.
“My job as a coach is to support their need to get better, and how they want to play, and how they approach the game. They deliver.
“They’re the players that go on the field, and they’ve changed the game.
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Wigan’s Jenna Foubister, aged 19, tells Sky Sports ‘this is just the start’ after Challenge Cup final victory over St Helens
“We sat here last year and we said the same thing. Everyone’s going: ‘Wow, that was good’, and I think about it as well, I don’t think we played that well today, and they don’t. I half expected them to come off and go: ‘I didn’t do this, I didn’t do that’.
“That’s what they’re like, they’re constantly trying to improve.
“We end up in these conversations where it’s really inspiring for me as a coach, because they want to get better, and I’ve got to prove that a positive mindset, and what we do and how we train, will enhance that.”
Foubister: Victory amazing – everything we dreamed of
Wigan Warriors’ Jenna Foubister, player of the match, speaking to BBC:
“It was absolutely amazing, it was everything we dreamed of as a team. We built up to this all through pre-season and all through last year and it’s great that it’s all paid off.
“We came into it knowing it was going to be a very tough game. We know what Saints are like, we know that they can turn up on a day, but I think we just executed much better and we all dug in.
“I’m glad we got the win.”
Wigan Warriors’ Anna Davies speaking to BBC:
“I’m a bit speechless. I thought last year was a statement but I think today the pressure was on us to do it and be able to execute it again.
“I thought it would be a real battle today because they’re coming for us and to be able to weather that storm at the start was a bit chaotic, but we got our composure back and we were able to execute it at the end and we were able to enjoy it and relax into it. I think that’s where we play our best.
“I’m really thankful for the opportunity to play here and to be able to do it with the girls.”
Sky Sports will again show every game of the Super League live this season – including two matches in each round exclusively live, with the remaining five matches each week shown on Sky Sports+
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: skynews.com
