St Helens edge Leeds to close regular season with seventh straight Headingley win
St Helens beat Leeds Rhinos in the final round of the Women's Super League regular season at Headingley on Saturday, 12 September.
The win was St Helens' seventh in a row at the stadium and made them firm favourites to face Leeds again in the semi-final the following week, according to BBC Sport. It was a tight finish. Leeds actually scored five tries to St Helens' four, but goal-kicking decided it.
In rugby league a try is worth four points, with a kick at goal after it — a conversion — worth two more. St Helens made every kick count. Emily Rudge, Caitlin Casey, Vicky Whitfield and Jodie Cunningham crossed for one try each, and Faye Gaskin landed all four conversions.
Leeds kept coming. Ruby Bruce, Ebony Stead, Liv Whitehead and Evie Cousins all scored, with Whitehead grabbing two. But Mel Howard managed only one success from five conversion attempts, which left Leeds short despite their extra try.
What makes this stand out is how fine the margins are at the top. St Helens now want a quick return to Headingley on the following Friday for the semi-final. For that to be cemented they need leaders Wigan Warriors, who still held a 100% record at the time of the report, to beat York Valkyrie.
Elsewhere, Barrow Raiders saved their season. They beat Leigh Leopards 24-20 to preserve their Super League status for 2027. It was only Barrow's second win of the campaign, and both came against Leigh, with Sam Norman, Leah Clough, Emma Hutchinson and Maddie Houghton scoring the tries that mattered, two of them from Hutchinson.
For fans, this means heartbreak for Leigh is not quite final. They drop into a promotion-relegation play-off on 27 September against the winners of the Championship Grand Final. That final, between Manchester Swinton Lionesses and London Broncos, is scheduled for 20 September.
There was also a notable result in the Shield. Featherstone Rovers edged Huddersfield Giants 18-16, handing Huddersfield their first defeat since the season split. Featherstone led 18-4 at half-time after tries from Brogan Churm, Em Holmes, Aaliyah Brewster and Ash Prescott, then held on. The victory ended a run of six straight defeats against Huddersfield.
