Leeds Rhinos coach vows to bounce back after Women's Challenge Cup final loss to St Helens
Leeds Rhinos have turned their attention to retaining the Betfred Women’s Super League title after the shattering disappointment of Wembley defeat.
Rhinos were beaten 22-8 by St Helens in the first Women’s Challenge Cup final played at the national stadium, but coach Lois Forsell insisted: “We will learn as a group and we will be better for it.”
Leeds lost to Saints in last year’s Cup final, but went on to be crowned league champions and Forsell is hoping for a similar response this time.
After a good start, Rhinos conceded three tries in five minutes - all without them touching the ball - to find themselves 16-0 down.
That effectively took the game away from Rhinos and Forsell admitted they “left ourselves too much to do”.
She said: “Congratulations to Saints, they were deserved winners, but we will stick together and we know we will be better for that come the end of the year.
“We have got a lot of young players and for a lot of players this was their first experience of a big game. They have got to hold their heads high and be proud, but there’s lots for us to learn. At the key moments in the game, Saints just edged us in having that composure to stick to what they had to do.
“We will have a good long chat about where we need to be better. We have got a very good group and a very close group, but we just fell short today.”
Many of the Leeds players were in tears after collecting their runners-up medals. Forsell stressed: “They have to feel the disappointment.
“They are all there because they want to win and as a group we haven’t done that. The disappointment creates a desire and hunger to go on and make sure we don’t feel that come October.”
Prop Danielle Anderson suffered a knee injury in the first half and stand-off Caitlin Casey was on crutches following the game after limping off in the closing stages.