2022 Women's Challenge Cup

2022 Women's Challenge Cup
DurationGroup stage plus three knockout rounds
Number of teams16
Broadcast partnersBBC Sport
WinnersSt Helens
Runners-upLeeds Rhinos
Biggest home winLeeds Rhinos 92–0 Leigh Miners Rangers
(3 April 2022)
Biggest away winHull FC 0–114 Huddersfield Giants
(3 April 2022)

The 2022 Women's Challenge Cup (sponsored as the 2022 Betfred Women's Challenge Cup) was the 10th staging of the Rugby Football League's cup competition for women's rugby league clubs. The competition was won by St Helens who beat Leeds Rhinos 18–8 in the final at Elland Road on 7 May.

Format

The competition has a different format from previous years. Instead of being a straight knockout tournament, the first stage was played using a single round-robin format with the top two teams from four groups advancing to the quarter-final stage, at which point knockout format was resumed.[1]

Entry was limited to the 12 teams of the Women's Super League plus three Championship teams; Hull FC, Oulton Raidettes and Widnes Vikings; together with the Army women's team. Each team was seeded into one of four pots with one team from each pot being drawn into each group.[2]

Seeding pots for group stage draw
Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 Pot 4
Groups
Group A Group B Group C Group D
  • St Helens
  • Warrington Wolves
  • Barrow Raiders
  • British Army
  • Leeds Rhinos
  • Huddersfield Giants
  • Leigh Miners Rangers
  • Hull FC
  • York City Knights
  • Wigan Warriors
  • Bradford Bulls
  • Widnes Vikings
  • Castleford Tigers
  • Wakefield Trinity
  • Featherstone Rovers
  • Oulton Raidettes

On 6 March 2022 Widnes Vikings withdrew from the competition and were replaced by another Championship side, Dewsbury Moor.[3]

Group stage

The draw for the group stages was made on 7 December at Elland Road, Leeds. Making the draw were footballers Jermaine Beckford and Gemma Bonner.[4]

Group A

Group A fixtures
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee
Barrow Raiders 0–68 St Helens 13 March 2022, 14:00 Craven Park
British Army 8–50 Warrington Wolves Aldershot Military Stadium
St Helens 88–0 British Army 27 March 2022, 14:00 Totally Wicked Stadium
Warrington Wolves 36–16 Barrow Raiders Halliwell Jones Stadium
Warrington Wolves 0–54 St Helens 3 April 2022, 14:00 Halliwell Jones Stadium
Barrow Raiders 38–0 British Army Craven Park
Source:[5][6][7]
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 St Helens 3 3 0 0 210 0 +210 6 Advance to quarter-finals with home advantage
2 Warrington Wolves 3 2 0 1 86 78 +8 4 Advance to quarter-finals
3 Barrow Raiders 3 1 0 2 54 104 −50 2
4 British Army 3 0 0 3 8 176 −168 0
Source: [citation needed]

Group B

Group B fixtures
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee
Huddersfield Giants 8–38 Leeds Rhinos 12 March 2022, 12:00 John Smiths Stadium
Leigh Miners Rangers 72–0 Hull FC 13 March 2022, 14:00 Twist Lane
Hull FC 0–48[a] Leeds Rhinos —
Leigh Miners Rangers 6–46 Huddersfield Giants 27 March 2022, 14:00 Twist Lane
Leeds Rhinos 92–0 Leigh Miners Rangers 3 April 2022, 14:00 Headingley
Hull FC 0–114 Huddersfield Giants MKM Stadium
Source:[5][6][7]
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Leeds Rhinos 3 3 0 0 178 8 +170 6 Advance to quarter-finals with home advantage
2 Huddersfield Giants 3 2 0 1 168 44 +124 4 Advance to quarter-finals
3 Leigh Miners Rangers 3 1 0 2 78 138 −60 2
4 Hull FC 3 0 0 3 0 234 −234 0
Source: [citation needed]

Group C

Group C fixtures
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee
Dewsbury Moor 0–78 York City Knights 13 March 2022, 14:00 Dewsbury Moor Sports Club
Bradford Bulls 6–44 Wigan Warriors 13 March 2022, 17:00 Horsfall Stadium
York City Knights 46–0 Wigan Warriors 20 March 2022, 12:00 York Community Stadium
Wigan Warriors 62–0 Dewsbury Moor 27 March 2022, 12:00 Robin Park Arena
Bradford Bulls 4–76 York City Knights 27 March 2022, 14:00 Odsal Stadium
Dewsbury Moor 4–22 Bradford Bulls 3 April 2022, 14:00
Source:[5][6][7][9]
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 York City Knights 3 3 0 0 200 4 +196 6 Advance to quarter-finals with home advantage
2 Wigan Warriors 3 2 0 1 106 52 +54 4 Advance to quarter-finals
3 Bradford Bulls 3 1 0 2 32 124 −92 2
4 Dewsbury Moor 3 0 0 3 4 162 −158 0
Source: [citation needed]

Group D

Group D fixtures
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee
Castleford Tigers 10–32 Wakefield Trinity 13 March 2022, 14:00 The Mend-A-Hose Jungle
Oulton Raidettes 10–30 Featherstone Rovers
Oulton Raidettes 40–0 Castleford Tigers 27 March 2022, 14:00
Wakefield Trinity 0–32 Featherstone Rovers Belle Vue
Featherstone Rovers 86–0 Castleford Tigers 3 April 2022, 14:00 Post Office Road
Wakefield Trinity 12–14 Oulton Raidettes Belle Vue
Source:[5][6][7]
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Featherstone Rovers 3 3 0 0 148 10 +138 6 Advance to quarter-finals with home advantage
2 Oulton Raidettes 3 2 0 1 64 42 +22 4 Advance to quarter-finals
3 Wakefield Trinity 3 1 0 2 44 56 −12 2
4 Castleford Tigers 3 0 0 3 10 158 −148 0
Source: [citation needed]

Quarter-finals

The quarter-finals are scheduled for the weekend of 9/10 April.[10] The teams topping each group will have home advantage in the quarter-finals.[11]

Quarter-finals
Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee
St Helens 24–0 Huddersfield Giants 10 April 2022, 14:00 Totally Wicked Stadium
Leeds Rhinos 40–0 Warrington Wolves 10 April 2022, 14:00 Headingley Rugby Stadium
York City Knights 92–2 Oulton Raidettes 10 April 2022, 14:00 York Community Stadium
Featherstone Rovers 12–10 Wigan Warriors 10 April 2022, 18:00 Post Office Road
Source:[12]

Semi-finals

The draw for the semi-finals was made on 10 April with the matches played on 24 April as a double header at Warrington's Halliwell Jones Stadium.[13]

Team 1 Score Team 2 Match Information
Date and Time Venue Referee
York City Knights 24–26 Leeds Rhinos 24 April 2022, 14:30 Halliwell Jones Stadium
St Helens 82–0 Featherstone Rovers 24 April 2022, 17:30
Source:[14][15]

Final

The final was played at Elland Road, Leeds on Saturday 7 May 2022. The match formed part of a triple-header with the semi-finals of the men's Challenge Cup.[16] The attendance of 5,888 was a new record attendance for a women's rugby league match in Great Britain.[17]

Details

7 May 2022
12:00 BST (UTC+01:00)
St Helens 18 – 8 Leeds Rhinos
Tries: Burke, Partington (2), Cunningham
Goals: Stott (1/4)
 report
 Tries: Hornby
Goals: Winfield-Hill (2/3)
Elland Road, Leeds
Attendance: 5,888
Referee: Liam Rush
Player of the Match: Zoe Hornby (Leeds)
Team details
St Helens Position Leeds Rhinos
Name Number Number Name
Rebecca Rotherham 1
FB
 4 Fran Goldthorp
Ebony Partington 17
WG
 17 Tasha Gaines
Carrie Roberts 3
CE
 13 Hannah Butcher
Amy Hardcastle 4
CE
 1 Caitlin Beevers
Leah Burke 5
WG
 18 Sam Hulme
Zoe Harris 6
SO
 6 Georgia Roche
Beth Stott 15
SH
 7 Courtney Winfield-Hill
Isabelle Rudge 20
PR
 8 Aimee Staveley
Tara Jones 9
HK
 9 Keara Bennett
Chantelle Prowl 10
PF
 15 Danielle Anderson
Paige Travis 11
SR
 11 Chloe Kerrigan
Naomi Williams 14
SR
 12 Elycia Watson
Jodie Cunningham 13
LF
 15 Zoe Hornby
Vicky Whitfield 8
IN
 20 Emma Lumley
Alice Sandham 21
IN
 14 Shannon Lacey
Emily Rudge 12
IN
 16 Orla McCallion
Rachael Woosey 19
IN
 26 Alex Barnes
Derek Hardman
Coach
 Lois Forsell


Broadcast matches

Round Match Date Broadcast method
Group stage match, week 1 Barrow Raiders v St Helens 12 March 2022 Broadcast live on BBC Red Button
Group stage match, week 2 York City Knights v Wigan Warriors 20 March 2022 Broadcast live on Our League
Group stage match, week 3 Wakefield Trinity v Oulton Raidettes 3 April 2022 Broadcast live on Our League
Quarter-final Featherstone Rovers v Wigan Warriors 10 April 2022 Broadcast live on Our League
Semi-final York City Knights v Leeds Rhinos 24 April 2022 Broadcast live on BBC Red Button
St Helens v Featherstone Rovers
Final St Helens v Leeds Rhinos 7 May 2022 Broadcast live on BBC Two

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Hull forfeited the game after being unable to raise a team. Under the RFL operational rules, the match was awarded to Leeds as a 48–0 win.[8]

References

  1. ^ Hughes, Steven (16 December 2021). "Women's Challenge Cup schedule confirmed". LoveRugbyLeague. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Saints to face Wolves in Challenge Cup". BBC Sport. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  3. ^ "Betfred Women's Challenge Cup update". www.rugby-league.com. RFL. 6 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Betfred Women's Challenge Cup Round 1 Draw made". www.rugby-league.com. RFL. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d "Betfred Women's Challenge Cup Round One Round-Up". RFL. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d "England Watch | Women". RFL. 28 March 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d "Betfred Women's Challenge Cup Quarter-finalists confirmed". RFL. 3 April 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  8. ^ Flynn, Leanne (25 March 2022). "Women's game against Hull FC called off". Leeds Rhinos. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  9. ^ "Betfred Women's Challenge Cup | Round 2 Preview". RFL. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  10. ^ "A new format, a new final venue - Why we should look forward to the 2022 Women's Challenge Cup". Rugby League News. 11 December 2021. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  11. ^ "Betfred Womens Challenge Cup 2022". Forty20. Vol. 12, no. 1. January 2022. p. 27.
  12. ^ "England Watch | Women - Challenge Cup quarter-finals". RFL. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  13. ^ Ibbetson, Stephen (5 April 2022). "Draw details confirmed for Challenge Cup semi-finals". TotalRL.com. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  14. ^ "Leeds Rhinos women book Cup final spot". RFL. 24 April 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  15. ^ "St Helens overwhelm Featherstone as Cup defence continues". RFL. 24 April 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  16. ^ "Elland Road to host Betfred Women's Challenge Cup Final". www.rugby-league.com. RFL. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  17. ^ "Women's Challenge Cup final: St Helens come back to beat Leeds Rhinos and retain trophy". Sky Sports. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2022.