Having come up short last year, Leeds Rhinos fended off all the competition to lift the Women’s Nines trophy on Saturday.

Held at Salford's AJ Bell Stadium, the Rhinos perfectly timed their tournament run. After easing through the group stages, including a 36-0 win over Warrington Wolves, Lois Forsell's side comfortably saw off St Helens 14-4 in the semi-final before holding off Wigan Warriors to win a pulsating final 21-8.  

The Warriors first stated notice of intent in holding Leeds to 14-all in the group stage before stunning holders York Valkyrie 12-4 in the knock-out stages to reach the final, but Wigan simply could not contain Ruby Enright, Eloise Hayward, Tara Moxon and player-of-the-final Izzy Northrop, who enjoyed a tournament to remember. Northrop was a constant threat and the quality of the Rhinos’ finishing, especially from Moxon, was totally sublime.  

Group A

Leeds opened Finals Day in the morning with an emphatic 36-0 Group A victory over Warrington Wolves, before sharing the spoils with Wigan.

A lightning start against the Wolves saw the Rhinos race into an 11-0 lead after two minutes, courtesy of tries from Tara Moxon and Zoe Hornby, before two additional tries gave Leeds a 22-0 advantage at half time. The Rhinos continued to dominate in the second half as Sam Hulme scored a fifth try, before Eloise Hayward showed blistering pace down the right wing to complete a 36-0 win.

In the second Group A match, Leeds required a late converted try to remain unbeaten after they fought back to draw 14-14 with Wigan Warriors. The Warriors started strongly as Anna Davies powered over to open the scoring after two minutes, before Rhinos levelled the contest through Ruby Enright. Wigan capitalised on a penalty to regain the lead with the final action of the half when Emma Dwyer scooted over as Beri Salihi added the conversion to give the Warriors a 10-4 lead at the break.

The Rhinos responded after the restart when Enright collected a kick to touch down for her second try of the match, however, Wigan went ahead once more when Salihi raced clear to score. A tightly contested clash was levelled late on as Rhinos sealed their progression to the semi-finals.

The Warriors then despatched Warrington Wolves 33-0 – with Anna Davies and Molly Jones outstanding and the Wolves suffering unfortunate injuries to Aby Latchford and Charlie Magraw – to secure a semi-final spot against Group B winners York Valkyrie.  

A quick start saw the Warriors lead after 30 seconds when Molly Jones sprinted clear from halfway, before Anna Davies increased their lead with her second try of the Finals day. Mary Coleman and a second of the match from Davies widened the Warriors advantage, before Grace Banks raced clear to score Warriors' sixth try of the match. 

Group B

York Valkyrie had earlier faced St Helens in the opening Group B fixture, an 11-10 final score offering an indication of the strength competitiveness of the two sides. St Helens suffered an early set-back, losing Zoe Harris with a leg injury, and York took full advantage with first half tries from Tara Stanley and Liv Whitehead gave the reigning champions an 11-0 half-time lead. St Helens hit back after the break with tries from Eboni Partington and Phoebe Hook, but couldn’t quite bridge the gap. 

York then faced ‘wildcard’ entry Cardiff Demons in the second Group B match of the day. And, like St Helens with Zoe Harris earlier, the Valkyrie were rocked by injury to Georgie Hetherington who was hurt in the act of scoring her side’s second try. Tara Stanley – the star of last year’s tournament – continued undaunted, scoring four tries as the Valkyrie ran out winners 23-0.    

With York Valkyrie, Leeds Rhinos and Wigan Warriors assured of semi-final spots, it was left to St Helens and Cardiff Demons to determine the final play off contender. The Demons gave a magnificent account of themselves, trailed just 4-6 at the break and gave St Helens an almighty fright before losing just 8-16.  

Results Group A  

Leeds Rhinos 36 Warrington Wolves 0 

Wigan Warriors 14 Leeds Rhinos 14 

Warrington Wolves 0 Wigan Warriors 33 

Results Group B 

York Valkyrie 11 St Helens 10 

Cardiff Demons 0 York Valkyrie 23 

St Helens 16 Cardiff Demons 8 

Semi-finals 

Leeds Rhinos 14 St Helens 4 

York Valkyrie 4 Wigan Warriors 12  

Women’s Nines Final 

Leeds Rhinos 21 Wigan Warriors 8 

Watch

Miss any of the Nines Finals Day? Click below to watch back both of Leeds' group, semi-final and final matches with full match commentary.