Leeds Rhinos 12-34 York Valkyrie: record crowd watch Women's Super League opener
- Published
York's Hollie-Mae Dodd (centre) was on the scoresheet as her team earned victory in their first game since rebranding as the Valkyrie
Betfred Women's Super League |
|---|
Leeds Rhinos (12) 12 |
Tries: Bennett, Hayward Goals: Hulme 2 |
York Valkyrie (18) 34 |
Tries: Renouf, Hyde, Dodd, Gale, Stanley, Hendry Goals: Stanley 5 |
York Valkyrie beat champions Leeds Rhinos in the opening game of the Women's Super League season in front of a competition-record crowd of 5,308.
York reversed their Grand Final loss to Leeds with victory at Headingley.
Tries from Tamzin Renouf, Ashleigh Hyde and Hollie-Mae Dodd put last season's minor premiers 18-12 up at the break.
Leeds failed to add to first-half tries from Keara Bennett and Eloise Hayward, as Liv Gale, Tara Jane Stanley and Ellie Hendry completed York's win.
The Yorkshire derby showdown between two of the competition's biggest sides was part of a Super League double header at Headingley on Easter Sunday, with Rhinos' men's side hosting Huddersfield later on Sunday, and comes a week before the rest of the team's kick-off the campaign.
Renouf gave York the ideal start with an early try in the corner, but the visitors quickly found themselves a player down when Jasmine Bell was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle on Bennett.
The hooker shook off the heavy blow to cross for Leeds' first try, but parity was short lived as Hyde took an excellent cut-out pass from Stanley to restore York's advantage despite still being down to 12 players.
A stunning break from Caitlin Beevers set Hayward up for Leeds' response, only for the Valkyrie to gain the lead for the third time just before the break through Dodd.
Gale swerved though the Leeds defence to open a two-try advantage for the first time after the interval.
A resolute defensive performance by the visitors starved the Rhinos of second-half opportunities, with victory eventually being wrapped up with late tries from Stanley - the reigning Woman of Steel, who followed up her score with a penalty to finish with 14 points - and Hendry.
Leeds Rhinos: Nuttall, Hayward, Beevers, Butcher, Robinson, Casey, Hulme, Hornby, Bennett, Northrop, Hardcastle, Dainton, Hale.
Interchange: Earnshaw-Cudjoe, Anderson, Lockwood, Frain.
York Valkyrie: Stanley, Hyde, Renouf, Kershaw, Hendry, Hetherington, Gale, Wood, Peach, Bell, Owen, Andrade, Dodd.
Interchange: Rihari, Staveley, Marshall, Field.
Sin-bin: Bell (10).