By Sam Brocksom

Leeds Rhinos Women concluded the first half of the season with a big win over Huddersfield Giants to confirm their second place finish in the Betfred Women's Super League before the competition splits.

Two tries each from Connie Boyd, Liv Whitehead and Evie Cousins along with tries from Kaiya Glynn, Lucy Murray and Lois Naidole helped secure the win.

Rhinos marched down field from the kick off, with a set restart on the last giving them their field position. Lucy Murray made the Giants pay, receiving a short ball close to the line and dotting down to break the deadlock. Mel Howard added the extras.

Leeds scored twice more in the opening 10 minutes, as Liv Whitehead and Kaiya Glynn both put their names on the scoresheet, with the away side using the flanks well to allow the winger to score, before another crash ball put Glynn over. Howard added both conversions to make it 18-0 after 10 minutes.

The Giants got their first points after a quarter of an hour, with half-back Becky Grady going in under the sticks. Howard couldn’t deal with the high kick in the sun, which awarded Huddersfield a repeat set, and from that, they pounced. Tegan Sant added the simple conversion from in front.

After the hydration break, Huddersfield looked the more dominant of the two sides, but a great kick from Howard turned the tide for Leeds, and after Nicole Kennedy looked to go over, the winger was called short, but that gave Connie Boyd the opportunity to score from dummy half. Howard couldn’t add the sideline conversion.

The Giants sought an instant response, and they got just that with ex-Leeds academy player Faye Barraclough touching down in the right corner. Sam Hulme couldn’t add the two, so the deficit remained at 12.

Two further tries came from the Rhinos before the break, with Shannon Brown and Boyd’s second seeing Leeds go into the sheds with a 24-point lead. Brown used plenty of strength to beat the Giants defence, before Boyd was in support of Lacey Owen after the back rower made the line break. Howard’s two goals gave Leeds a 34-10 lead.

Leeds had to bide their time before adding any second-half points. Lois Naidole, on return to the side, crossed for a four-pointer against her former club, with the route-one style of play again working for the Rhinos. Howard’s kick marked 40 points for Leeds.

Just before the second hydration break of the game, another returnee, this time Evie Cousins, grabbed a try to increase the lead further, breaking the line on the right before cutting in to make for an easier conversion, which was greatly appreciated by Howard.

The centre added a second just minutes later. A break by Boyd gave Leeds field position, before Whitehead’s run switched the play to the opposite flank. Ruby Bruce went down the blind side, finding Cousins who touched down in the corner, allowing Leeds to hit the half-century.

A piece of solo brilliance from Whitehead, who had a stellar game, rounded out the game’s scoring with a long-range try that stemmed from a Giants error. The winger picked up the bobbling ball on her own 20 before running the length of the field to cap off an excellent showing both individually and collectively. Two more from Howard gave Leeds a 56-10 win, in what was a pleasing showing as we head into the play-offs.

The Rhinos will now move into the second half of the season after the international break, when the top four teams will compete for a place in the Grand Final.