Leeds Rhinos signing Shona Hoyle reveals why she moved from Challenge Cup holders St Helens

The England front-rower/loose-forward played for Bradford Bulls, Castleford Tigers and Huddersfield Giants before joining Saints in 2022 and was a Woman of Steel nominee last year when she scored 16 tries in 17 appearances. Her signing is a major coup for Leeds and she confirmed it came from her contacting them.

Hoyle could make her debut on Sunday when Leeds begin their season away to Leigh Leopards in the Betfred Women’s challenge Cup. She explained: “I was really struggling with my life balance.

“I was working in Bradford, I live in Halifax and I was travelling 210 miles there and back to Saints on Tuesdays and Thursdays and weekends as well. Saints supported me so much, I absolutely loved it there; Matty [Smith] is an amazing coach and I loved playing with the girls there, but my heart was ready to be back in Yorkshire and playing for Leeds is really exciting.

“I played with Lois many times for England and Bradford so it is really exciting to be coached by her. It has been amazing to have her depth of knowledge of the game and I have learned a lot from her over the last couple of months.”

Moving to Leeds also reunites Hoyle with her friend and former Saints teammate Amy Hardcastle, who made the same move a year ago. “She has always said to me we should finish our careers together and I agree,” Hoyle, 30, said.

“We are very close, our children are very close as well - they are in the same year group so they’ve been brought up together. We want to be together, but we want to be playing at a good level. I wouldn’t just go if it was a different team, I want to play for Leeds. I’ve played against them many times, lost against them and won against them and now I think I am ready to win for Rhinos.”

Hoyle played for Tigers when they and Rhinos were the top teams in the game and the rivalry continued after she joined Saints. Hoyle was a try scorer for the Merseyside club when they beat Rhinos in last year’s Challenge Cup final at Wembley and insisted: “I want to do that in a Leeds kit this year and I want to win everything in a Leeds kit this year. I am really excited.”

Hoyle believes some of her new teammates are future stars of the game. Caitlin Casey was Super League’s young player of the year in 2023 and Hoyle said: “She’s my half-back this year and I’m really excited. I went from Faye Gaskin, who’s a very experienced half, to Caitlin Casey. There’s a lot of similarities, Caitlins creates gaps the way Faye does.

“She is an amazing player, she’s so raw, but I think she is going to be an absolute powerhouse at Leeds and Rugby Enwright, at full-back, is very exciting. Amy is on the other side and we have Grace Field in the middle, who is renowned for big hits and that’s what you are in for this year at Leeds.”