The Sportsman is pleased to announce that we will be hosting live coverage of the Betfred Women’s Super League clash between York Valkyrie and St Helens, live on The Sportsman Rugby League YouTube channel and on our website.
The game takes place on Sunday 16th April with kick-off set for 1pm. The season gets underway on Easter Sunday as York Valkyrie face Leeds Rhinos at Headingley for a season opener, but the league continues the following weekend, and we’ve got the game of the round with reigning Betfred Challenge Cup champions St Helens heading to the LNER Stadium.
Last season, York lifted the League Leaders’ Shield but fell at the final hurdle to Leeds in the Grand Final, with fullback Tara-Jane Stanley claiming the Woman of Steel award after a tremendous season, picking up eight wins from the nine fixtures available in the league.
The Saints didn’t quite live up to their usually high expectations last season, lifting the Betfred Challenge Cup but not converting their form into the league, finishing second and failing to get past the semi-finals of the play-offs.
This season the top division is split into two groups, with St Helens, York, Huddersfield, Leeds, Warrington and Wigan making up group one of the Super League that will be fighting for the title.
Group two is made up of Barrow, Bradford, Castleford, Featherstone, Leigh and Salford, with the top finishing team qualifying for promotion, bottom team getting relegated, and the remaining sides left fighting for the final promotion spot.
All eyes will be on York Vakyrie’s latest recruit Sade Rihari who joins the club from Salford Red Devils after they gained promotion to Super League. A New Zealand international with experience in Australia and known for her exploits with Huddersfield, York have gained a great halfback that will surely see them aim for more silverware this season.
St Helens, under the tutelage of former Saints scrum-half Matty Smith, are also keeping their lofty ambitions. They re-signed Lucie Sams and Luci McColm back from rivals Wigan, with the two youngsters fighting to be part of the 17-woman squad to get the season going in just a few weeks time. They will be without prolific centre Amy Hardcastle, however, who has made the switch to Leeds for 2023 and beyond. Hardcastle was a key figure for St Helens and England last year, scoring 50 tries in 28 games and has a reputation for being one of the league’s finest players.
The match is set to get underway on April 16th at 1pm, with our coverage beginning at 12:45pm. Don’t miss it!
Betfred Women’s Super League Fixtures (Rounds 1&2)
Sunday, April 9: Leeds Rhinos vs York Valkyrie (TBC).
Sunday, April 16: Featherstone Rovers vs Barrow Raiders (12pm), York Valkyrie vs St Helens (1pm), Warrington Wolves vs Wigan Warriors (2pm), Huddersfield Giants vs Leeds Rhinos (2pm), Castleford Tigers vs Salford Red Devils (2pm), Bradford Bulls vs Leigh Leopards (5.15pm).