Wigan thrash Saints to win first Women’s Challenge Cup

Final of the Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup

St. Helens (0) 6

Try: Gaskin Goal at Mottershead

Wigan (18) 42

The Women’s Challenge Cup was won by Wigan Warriors after their rivals held onto the trophy for the first time by running in seven tries to defeat St. Helens.

When Megan Williams touched down, the Cherry and Whites were already in the lead, and Mary Coleman made a second-minute turn.

After the break, Isabel Rowe picked up where they left off by scoring minutes into the second half with a third try from Emily Veivers, who gave Wigan an 18-0 half-time lead.

Through Katie Mottershead, Saints won the Wembley final on the biggest stage thanks to Eva Hunter, Grace Banks, and Anna Davies.

It ends St. Helens’ run of four straight tournament victories in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, which Wigan have won for the first time since its inception in 2012.

Before this final, Wigan and St. Helens only had one other meeting in the Women’s Challenge Cup, when they met in 2021 and won 36-0 in the quarter-final to advance to their fourth straight final.

In the last five years, St. Helens have dominated the women’s game.

However, a revitalized Wigan has dominated the early Women’s Super League for the first time in stunning fashion starting in 2025, joining Saints, Leeds Rhinos, and York as domestic powerhouses.

Any hint that Leeds would be unnerved by the semi-final defeat was thrown out as a result of Rowe’s stunning performance in beating the team’s previous rivals, who had previously defeated them, to run in through the posts for their first score.

After Faye Gaskin’s kick was scuffled, Wigan then tore through Saints, which made it impossible for Coleman to pass without getting a chance.

The Saints’ 10-metre line was blocked by Veivers, who later went off with an arm injury and was pictured on the sidelines with it in a sling, and managed to force her way through the line with sensational strength to score.

Rowe weaved her way into the first half with her own try after being laser-focused with the boot in the opening stages, stifling any notion that Wigan simply had enjoyed the rub of the green in the first half.

Craig Richards, the St. Helens coach, told BBC Sport:

“First and foremost, congratulations to Wigan, I thought they were fantastic today.

If you don’t get the details right, you end up with what you want to say, “We didn’t quite nail what we talked about, and against a side like Wigan.”

“Your system needs to be where you can find it, and the only way to find it is to stay in.” We let in a few attempts that were foreign because we typically made teams work harder, in my opinion, early on.

We are proud of our side, but this Wigan side is also good. We are aware of this; all we need to do is improve.

Denis Betts, the head of the Wigan Warriors, told BBC Sport:

Although the score line appears very close, the game is really difficult. I just thought our form is excellent and that both teams were very competitive. You saw some very talented athletes competing today.

“I believed Mary Coleman was the player on the field by a long way for 70 minutes.” She is so enthusiastic. She is quick and powerful at both.

They initially feared the outcome of this game. We experienced it now, and we’ve won a sizable game, but the emotions were wild. They can reinvigorate that skill using the game.

Whitfield, Mottershead, Sutherland, and Woosey are the exchanges.

Davies, Wilson, Jones, Derbyshire, Foubister, Rowe, Coleman, Wilton, Speakman, Hunter, Power, Williams, all in Wigan.