The group stages of the Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup continued this weekend as debutants Catalans Dragons played their opening round in the competition.
The Dragons met Huddersfield Giants at Laund Hill on Sunday (12 April) in a tense battle, which saw just two points separate the sides at the final whistle.
The French side took little time to get started as Margot Canal opened the scoring at the seven-minute mark.
Catalans continued the first half with the game in hand as Pauline Noe crossed under the posts and Tessa Benmalek increased the lead 16-4 going into the second 40.
But there was still all to play for after a series of errors from both sides left their defences open to attack.
Despite Catalans getting the first try in the second, the Giants had much more to give, with Amelia Brown showing incredible resilience and getting her hat-trick at the 61st minute.
Even after Amy Bennett was sent to the sin bin for dissent, Huddersfield powered on as Mollie Iceton continued to add to their tally.
Still just slightly behind, Brown raced clear after Olivia Gale broke through the line, with Sam Hulme adding the conversion to take the edge over the Dragons and give them a narrow win at 24-22.
On Sunday (12 April) London Broncos met Leigh Leopards at home in a rematch of the 2024 National Championship Final.
A tight opening saw both sides test each other when errors hit due to the difficult conditions.
A tense first half saw the Broncos lead just 4-0 at the break, with the Leopards tying the game at 4-4 quickly as the second half hit.
But not before long, the Broncos firmly grasped control and didn’t relinquish it.
Becky Smart capitalised on a Leopards error to secure her brace before Charlotte D’Halluin added further pressure, crossing for the second time in the final stages to seal a deserved 20-8 victory.
Reigning champions Wigan Warriors hosted Cardiff Demons on Saturday (11 April).
The Warriors overwhelmed Cardiff with eight first half tries to lead 46-0 at the break.
The Demons finally got points on the board after 50 minutes when Sara Jones crossed over, converted by Mary-Ann Gittins, but the Warriors’ dominance continued to reign as numerous players got on the board for Wigan, and Isabel Rowe converted 12 of their 13 tries.
Finally, York Valkyrie hosted Barrow Raiders in the pair’s only game of the group stage.
The Valkyrie were fired up, racing through with six tries in the first half, including a hat-trick for Tamzin Renouf.
The Raiders finally gained the first of their three tries just before the break, when Kerrie-Ann Smith found her way through the Valkyrie line for an unconverted try.
As the second half got underway, Tara Moxon got the scoring started for York before Chloe Capstick added to Barrow’s tally.
The Raiders found their final attempt at redemption in the hands of Emma Hutchinson, who powered across the line with just minutes remaining, but it wasn’t enough to match the Valkyrie who walked away victorious at 54-12.
Betfred Women's Challenge Cup Round 2 results:
London Broncos 20 Leigh Leopards 8
York Valkyrie 54 Barrow Raiders 12
Huddersfield Giants 24 Catalans Dragons 22
Week 3 of the Group Stages will continue this weekend (18/19 April).
Rugby League returns to Wembley Stadium for the Betfred Challenge Cup Final on Saturday 30 May. Beat the price rise and secure the best seats for the best prices here. But hurry, the earlybird discount ends midnight Monday 13 April.
Photo Credit: Huddersfield Giants
