Warrington Wolves 10        Manchester Swinton Lionesses 18

Alan Dixon at Edge Hall Road Community Stadium.

The Manchester Swinton Lionesses had to fight hard to retain the Women’s Challenge Shield with victory over the Warrington Wolves in the final.

Defences dominated the opening exchanges of the game. It was a struggle for the Lionesses to get out of their own half and launch any decent attack. Sustained pressure by the Wolves had them camped on the Lionesses line, but superb tackling kept them at bay. They came close to scoring in the 8th minute when they moved the ball out wide to Evie Williams to try and score in the corner. A superb tackle by Grace Pritchard sent her into touch. Back-to-back penalties relieved the pressure and gave the Lionesses good field position. Georgia Briggs took the ball up. Abbie Singleton and Tamika moved the out to Grace Arrowsmith who cut back inside to score. Eve Ashcroft was unable to convert. From the restart, Georgia Briggs went on a run to set up the next attack. Tamika Bull put up a high ball on the last tackle. The Warrington defence allowed the ball to bounce towards the touchline. Grace Pritchard beat Hollie Gregory to the ball to score under the posts. Eve Ashcroft converted.

More pressure on the Lionesses line forced them into conceding a penalty near their own line. The Wolves moved the ball across the field to Evie Williams who scored in the corner. Michelle Davis missed the conversion attempt. The Wolves continued to attack the Lionesses line. The ball was moved out to Evie Williams but more superb tackling by Grace Arrowsmith and Grace Pritchard sent her into touch. The Lionesses knocked on from the resulting scrum. The Wolves moved the ball quickly out to Evie Williams who dropped the ball with an open line. The Lionesses were then penalised for offside. This allowed the Wolves to put more pressure on the Lionesses line. After driving it down the middle, they moved the ball out to Kaitlin Hilton to score. Michelle Davis added the extras. The half ended with the Lionesses on the attack. The Wolves conceded a penalty for a high tackle. Yasmin Parton Sotomayor took the ball up on the first drive. Charlotte Hill took the ball up on the next drive before passing it out of the tackle to Tamika Bull. She put up a high ball that was knocked on by Hollie Gregory, and the half came to an end with the scores level.

The second half started with the Lionesses defence dominating the game. Amber Harmon intercepted a Warrington pass to launch another attack. Runs by Charlotte Hill and Emma Welsford got the Lionesses close to the Warrington line. Quick hands by Tamika Bull, Maddie Higson and Kerrie Evans got the ball out to Chloe Newbigging who was tackled short of the line. The second half was eight minutes old before Warrington got the ball into the Lionesses half of the field. Michelle Davis kicked on the last tackle. She recovered her own kick after a Lioness fumble. The ball was moved across to the wing where Kaitlin Hilton drop the ball into touch. The Wolves knocked on coming out of defence. From the scrum, Tamika Bull broke through the Wolves defence. Georgia Briggs was tackled short of the line. Abbie Singleton went over from dummy half but was held up. From the restart, Tamika Bull, Emma Welsford and Leila D’Symonds quickly got the ball across to Grace Arrowsmith who sent Grace Pritchard in at the corner. The conversion was missed.

The Lionesses continued to attack from the restart with runs by Emma Welsford, Kerrie Evans and Amber Harmon getting them close to the line. Tamika Bull’s kick through was recovered by the Wolves. The Lionesses continued to attack the Wolves line. Leila D’Symonds and Chloe Newbigging set up good field position, but Grace Arrowsmith was unable to keep hold of the ball in the tackle. The Wolves managed to put some pressure on the Lionesses line and forced a knock on. Ellie Dooney crashed over the line but good defence by the Lionesses held her up. The ball was moved across to Teneisha Fairbrother but superb defence by Kerrie Evans and Chloe Newbigging kept her out. The Wolves applied more pressure on the Lionesses line. A barnstorming run by Shannon Stephens was halted by three Lioness defenders. The ball was moved out wide to Teneisha Fairbrother who was stopped short of the line by Chloe Newbigging on the last tackle. The Wolves launched their next attack from deep. Grace Arrowsmith was sin binned for a foul on Hollie Brussels. This did not phase the Lionesses as they continued to attack the Wolves line. Runs by Yasmin Parton Sotomayor, Amber Harmon and Eleanor Atherton allowed Tamika Bull to put a kick into the in-goal. She chased her own kick and forced Hollie Gregory to kick the ball dead. From the drop out, Emma Welsford took the ball up. The ball was moved across to Tamika Bull whose pass to Kerrie Evans allowed her to send Grace Pritchard in at the corner to seal victory. Tamika Bull was unable to add the extras.

Teams:

Warrington Wolves: Hollie Gregory, Teneisha Fairbrother, Kaitlin Hilton, Hollie Brussels, Evie Williams, Michelle Davis, Ellie Costello, Beth Hayes, Emma Dwyer, Megan Bragg, Kayleigh Bradshaw, Georgia Westwood, Maddie Price. Subs: Libby Clarke, Shannon Stephens, Megan Condliffe, Ellie Dooney, Jen Myler, Ellie Jelves, Lydia Egan.

Tries: Williams (27), Hilton (34)

Goal: Davis

Manchester Swinton Lionesses: Eve Ashcroft, Chloe Newbigging, Kerrie Evans, Grace Arrowsmith, Grace Pritchard, Tamika Bull, Maddie Higson, Eleanor Atherton Abbie Singleton, Madeline Neale, Jasmine Wilson, Amber Harmon, Georgia Briggs. Subs: Leila D’Symonds, Emma Welsford, Yasmin Parton Sotomayor, Morgan Pearson, Charlotte Hill, Georgia Lake, Amelia Newton.

Tries: Arrowsmith (12), Pritchard (16,58,76)

Goal: Ashcroft

Pens: 7-7                  Half Time: 10-10                  Referee: Tyler Topping-Higson

Player of the Match: Tamika Bull