For the first time in its history, the Betfred Women's Challenge Cup will be played at Wembley Stadium alongside the men's Final this Saturday as Leeds Rhinos and St Helens go for the first major silverware of the year.

Both sides have an extensive history in the men's and women's competitions, having won four of the last five Women's Cup finals. Lois Forsell's Leeds side have had to wait three years since their last Cup victory, which was a 16-10 result against Castleford in 2019, whilst Matty Smith's Saints come into this year's Final as the reigning holders following last year's win over the Rhinos at Elland Road.

In the build up to this year's final, here is brief preview of Cup Final history and both team's cup records:

Cup History

From Dewsbury to Wembley, the Women's Challenge Cup, along with the whole Women's competition, has come a long way in the last decade.

Looking down the years, Featherstone Rovers, Bradford Bulls (formerly the Thunderbirds) and Thatto Heath Crusaders battled it out in the early Finals, which were played around Championship grounds in Batley, Dewsbury and Bradford's Odsal Stadium. 2017's competition even saw local York side Heworth host the Final between Bradford and Featherstone, in which Leeds coach Forsell and England internationals Shona Hoyle and Amy Hardcastle helped the Bulls to victory.

The formation of Women's teams at major clubs such as Leeds, St Helens, Wigan and Castleford saw the Challenge Cup have a new winner; the Rhinos beating Castleford thanks to tries from Suze Hill, Caitlin Beevers, Aimee Staveley and Lois Forsell. The Rhinos retained the Cup a year later against the Tigers too, before Saints were crowned Cup champions on their way to a domestic Treble after the 2020 Covid break. They also retained the Cup last year at Elland Road in an 18-8 win over Leeds.

2012 Bradford Thunderbirds 0 Featherstone Rovers 46 (at Tetley's Stadium, Dewsbury)

2013 Bradford Thunderbirds 12 Thatto Heath Crusaders 54 (at Fox's Biscuits Stadium, Batley)

2014 Bradford Thunderbirds 24 Thatto Heath Crusaders 32 (at Tetley's Stadium, Dewsbury)

2015 Featherstone Rovers 6 Thatto Heath Crusaders 22 (at Odsal Stadium, Bradford)

2016 Leigh Miners Rangers 6 Thatto Heath Crusaders 62 (at Odsal Stadium, Bradford)

2017 Bradford Bulls 50 Featherstone Rovers 16 (at Heworth ARLFC)

2018 Castleford Tigers 14 Leeds Rhinos 20 (at Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington)

2019 Castleford Tigers 10 Leeds Rhinos 16 (at University of Bolton Stadium)

2021 St Helens 34 York City Knights 6 (at Leigh Sports Village)

2022 Leeds Rhinos 8 St Helens 18 (at Elland Road, Leeds)

2022 Cup Final

When Leeds and Saints met at Elland Road in last year's Final, the Red Vee came out on top in an intense matchup at Elland Road.

Watch the highlights below:

2023 Cup Stats 

Leeds

Nine players that have played in every Cup round this season (Hanna Butcher, Dannielle Anderson, Bethan Dainton, Jasmine Earnshaw-Cudjoe, Izzy Northrop, Tara Moxon, Eloise Hayward, Kaiya Glynn, Caitlin Casey).

Tries 

1. Tara Moxon (7 tries)

2. Bethan Dainton (5 tries) 

3. Hanna Butcher and Amy Hardcastle (4 tries)

Goals 

1. Eloise Hayward (16 goals)

2. Tasha Gaines (2 goals)

3. Caitlin Casey (1 goal)

Points

1. Eloise Hayward (40 points)

2. Tara Moxon (28 points)

3. Bethan Dainton (20 points)

St Helens

Nine players have played every Cup game for the Red Vee this year (Eboni Partington, Zoe Harris, Amy Taylor, Shona Hoyle, Tara Jones, Darcy Stott, Emily Rudge, Vicky Whitfield, Pip Birchall)

Tries

1. Leah Burke (11 tries)

2. Shona Hoyle and Luci McColm (6 tries)

3. Tara Jones and Hannah Roberts (4 tries

Goals

1. Amy Taylor (36 goals)

Points

1. Amy Taylor (72 points)

2. Leah Burke (44 points)

3. Shona Hoyle and Luci McColm (24 points)

Previous Cup Meetings

Prior to last year's Cup Final, Leeds and St Helens have met only twice before in the Cup.

Both meetings came at the semi-final stage in 2019 and 2021, with the Rhinos winning the first 16-10 thanks to a late length of the field try from Caitlin Beevers. The win saw Adam Cuthbertson's side continue their journey to Cup success as they lifted the trophy for a second successive season against Castleford. 

After that, the 2021 semi final went the way of the Saints, who defeated York in that year's Final. Fran Goldthorp and Orla McCallion scored the tries for Leeds, who fell 14-2 behind before closing the score to 20-12 by full time.

Be at the Final

Make sure you're at Wembley to cheer on the Rhinos Women's team in a historic Challenge Cup Final.

Tickets and travel can be purchased in the following ways subject to availability until 3pm on Friday 11th August (subject to change) - 

Online- tickets.therhinos.co.uk

Over the phone- 0371 423 1315 (Monday to Friday, 10am to 4pm - Opening Hours) 

In person at Leeds Rhinos Club Shop- Monday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm (Opening Hours) 

Please always check opening hours before travelling Opening Hours 

Official Coach Travel will be available for this fixture departing from Headingley Stadium at 5.15am. Those who are wishing to travel on the Official Coach Travel will be given the option at the time of booking of when they would like to depart from Wembley Stadium. This will be either after the Women’s Final or after the Men’s Final and the departure time will be decided by the majority. The coach will not be staying for the AB Sundecks Final.