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For four consecutive years between 2021 and 2024, St Helens won Women’s Challenge Cup glory. In two years though, Wigan Warriors have dispatched Saints to two Wembley finals.
For last year’s 42-6 success, Read this year’s 54-6 thrashing. It is clear that there has been a changing of the guard.
St Helens are an experienced side who have tasted plenty of success, but they are now being blown away by a Wigan side full of youth and pace.
In Saturday’s final, 20-year-old Eva Hunter scored four tries, 19-year-old Jenna Foubister was named player of the match and 19-year-old Izzy Roe again starred and kicked brilliantly, while 20-year-old Grace Banks also crossed for a try.
For St Helens, outgoing leaders Jodie Cunningham and Emily Roose are both 34, Jo Harris 32, Faye Gaskin 34 and Amy Hardcastle 37. Rebirth is needed, and the Saints coaching staff acknowledged that after a bitterly disappointing day.
St Helens co-head coach Craig Richards said, “We are a really honest team. We train as a squad, but the players recognize that change is coming.”
Wigan Warriors once again demonstrated their superiority over St Helens in recent times with a big Challenge Cup final victory.
“They want the best for the team, they want to do what they can, and you have to see that in training, it’s not just for the 17 that take the field.
“These players are working, other players will be in it at some stage, and they want to be quality.
“So there are no hard questions, no silver bullets. It’s just about reviewing the team and drip-feeding one or two players into the squad, but running young and not putting too much pressure on them.
“There is a plan, but it has to be a slow plan.
“Hopefully it won’t be too long before we get back to where we need to go.”
Compared to Wigan’s youthful charges, St Helens have a squad full of experience but lack the same form.
Bates: My players changed the women’s game
Wigan head coach Denis Bates believes his young side have changed the game of rugby league in this country with their stunning style of play and skill.
“They changed the game. The game in England is different now,” he said.
“I think after last year, I spoke to a lot of people, a lot of people who came from Wigan, and they were like: ‘I didn’t realize the women’s game looked like this’. And it didn’t, until these girls looked like this.
Wigan’s Eva Hunter, aged 20, proved a standout player on the day, her electric pace too much for St Helens.
“And it’s up to them. I come in and ask them how they want to play and then we break it down and we give them the skills to be able to do that.
“My job as a coach is to support their need to improve, and how they want to play and how they approach the game. They deliver.
“They are players who go on the field and they change the game.
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‘It’s only the beginning’, Wigan’s Jenna Foubister, 19, told Sky Sports after their Challenge Cup final win over St Helens
“We sat here last year and we said the same thing. Everyone was going: ‘Wow, that was good’, and I think about it too, I don’t think we played that well today and neither did they. I half expected them to come and go: ‘I didn’t do this, I didn’t do that’.
“That’s how they are, they’re constantly trying to improve.
“We end up in this conversation where it’s really motivating for me as a coach, because they want to get better, and I have to prove that a positive mindset and what we do and how we train, will fuel that.”
Fubister: Victory is amazing – everything we dreamed of
Wigan Warriors’ Jenna Foubister, player of the match, speaking to the BBC:
“It was absolutely amazing, it was what we dreamed of as a team. We’ve been building for it in pre-season and the whole of last year and it’s great that it’s all paid off.
“We came into it knowing it was going to be a very tough game. We know what the Saints are like, we know they can come in one day, but I think we executed better and we all dug in.”
“I’m glad we got the win.”
Anna Davies of Wigan Warriors speaking to the BBC:
“I’m a little bit speechless. I thought last year was a statement but I think the pressure was on us today to do it and be able to execute it again.
“I thought it was going to be a real battle today because they were coming for us and it was a little chaotic to be able to weather that storm at the beginning, but we calmed down and we were able to execute it in the end and we were able to enjoy it and relax into it. I think that’s where we played our best.
“I’m really grateful for the opportunity to play here and to be able to do it with the girls.”
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