Leeds Rhinos captain reveals retirement reversal led to Wembley in Women's Challenge Cup final v St Helens

The 32-year-old centre considered hanging up her boots after Rhinos’ Grand Final triumph last season, but the temptation proved too strong.

Leeds will face St Helens on Saturday in the first Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup final to be played at Wembley.

And - seated alongside fellow captains Jodie Cunningham (Saints), Shuan Kenny-Dowall (Hull KR) and John Asiata (Leigh Leopards) - she told a preview press conference this week it proves she was right not to quit.

“To be fair, I say I am going to retire every year so I don’t believe it myself, but it definitely does,” she said,

Butcher was appointed captain at the start of this season, following long-serving skipper Courtney Winfield-Hill’s retirement and could be the first player to lift the Women’s Challenge Cup at the national stadium.

Rhinos, though, face formidable opposition in a Saints side bidding to win the trophy for a third successive year, having beaten York in 2021 and Rhinos last season.

They were also 38-18 victors in a Women’s Super League clash at Headingley three months ago, but Rhinos’ form has improved significantly since then, despite a makeshift side’s defeat by Huddersfield Giants last weekend.

“I’m not sure who’ll be favourites,” Butcher admitted. “I’ve not really looked too much into that. We are very much focused on ourselves and whether we are favourites or underdogs we want to do a job.

“It potentially could come down to who handles the occasion. We will be going to the stadium on Friday so the girls can view it and see how good it really is and take it all in.

“We are going to need some good game-management to keep that calmness and composure in our game.”

Butcher began her rugby career with Dewsbury side Thornhill Trojans and played in Rhinos’ first game, a Women’s Super League win at Bradford Bulls in April, 2018.

She was player of the year that season and featured in the 2018 and 2019 Challenge Cup final wins, as well as the Super League title successes four years ago and last season.

The year before Rhinos’ women’s side was launched, the Challenge Cup final was played at Heworth, a community club in York.

Since then it has graduated to Warrington, Bolton, Leigh and Elland Road and will this year be the opening game in a Wembley triple-header also featuring the men’s showpiece and 1895 Cup final.

That has been a huge motivation throughout the first half of the season and Butcher insisted:

“All the girls are really pumped for it, really excited. Last year we played in the final at Elland Road. Although it’s 10 minutes from our training ground, that is a magnificent stadium, but to now be playing at Wembley, that just shows the jump [made by the women’s game] and the backing we’ve got.

“There’s lots more teams in the league and lots more community clubs getting involved and we are seeing youth coming through to the open age.”