'It's a big stage': Leeds Rhinos' women determined to make the most of Sky TV spotlight

They face Wigan Warriors at Headingley today (5.30pm) in a curtain-raiser to the men’s clash between the same clubs.

The game will be televised live on Sky Sports and Rhinos forward Zoe Hornby reckons there’s more at stake than two points.

“I think that’s the best thing at the moment, the amount of coverage the women’s game’s getting,” Hornby said.

“It really does inspire us to play that bit better to try and make people out there want to watch women’s rugby a bit more.

“It is a great stage for us.”

Rhinos haven’t played since a 48-12 win at Wigan three weeks ago.

That followed a stunning 20-18 victory away to champions St Helens – also in a televised double-header – and Hornby insisted: “We are all raring to go.

“We’ve been training hard and we’re looking forward to it.

“We were definitely in good form from the Saints and Wigan games, but also we’ve taken the time to fix a few errors.

“Overall I think it has been beneficial, we’ve made the most of having the break.

“Even if it’s just a bit of team bonding, we have definitely got closer from those wins.”

Rhinos are second in the table, behind York City Knights and in a good position to seal a home tie in the play-offs, but Hornby stressed: “Every game is important at this stage.

“After such a good win last time we just want to make sure we can do that again, but fix up on the little errors that allowed them to score a few tries.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to keep a clean sheet this week, but Wigan are always a good battle.

“The thing with Wigan is they play in the 80th minute as they do in the first.

“We know that and we’ve prepared for it and I think we’ll just go out and play our game.

“We’ll focus on the bits we’ve been working on over the last few weeks, but definitely not underestimate them.”