2024 Women's Challenge Cup final

{{Infobox rugby league football match

| year = 2024

| title = Women's Challenge Cup Final

| image =

| imagesize =

| caption =

| alt =

| away = {{leagueicon|St Helens|16}} St Helens

| home = {{leagueicon|Leeds|16}} Leeds Rhinos

| away_abbr = {{leagueicon|St Helens|16}} ST H

| home_abbr = {{leagueicon|Leeds|16}} LEE

| home_half1 = 0

| home_half2 = 0

| home_total = 0

| away_half1 = 10

| away_half2 = 12

| away_total = 22

| date = 8 June 2024

| location = London, United Kingdom

| MoM_title = Player of the Match

| MoM = Zoe Harris (St Helens)

| anthem_title = Abide with Me

| anthem = Maxwell Thorpe

| anthem2_title = God Save the King

| anthem2 = Katherine Jenkins

| referee = Aaron Moore

| attendance = 9,608https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/2025-challenge-cup-finals-day-date-venue-ticket-information-revealed-by-rfl

| stadium = Wembley Stadium

| network = BBC

| commentators =

| commentators2 =

| commentators3 =

| tournaments = Finals

| last = 2023

| next = 2025

}}

The 2024 Women's Challenge Cup Final was the 12th final of the Rugby Football League's Women's Challenge Cup knock-out competition. The 2024 was the second final at Wembley Stadium, and held on 8 June 2024.{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-league/66486361 |title=RFL to move Wembley Challenge Cup final date again |work=BBC Sport |date=12 August 2023 }}

The final was contested by Leeds Rhinos and St Helens.

Background

The 2024 Women's Challenge Cup final was the third consecutive meeting between St Helens and Leeds Rhinos in the competition final.

St Helens were three times defending champions of the Challenge Cup having won in 2021, 2022, and 2023. They also won the tournament four times in a row between 2013 and 2016. Upon gaining their place in the final St Helens were third in Super League.

Leeds Rhinos entered the final aiming to avenge back to back defeats to St Helens in 2022 and 2023. They last won the competition in 2019 retaining it after their 2018 victory. Upon qualification Leeds were in second place in Super League, behind Wigan Warriors the team they eliminated in the semi-finals, but above St Helens.

Route to the final

=Leeds Rhinos=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center; width: 75%;"
scope="col" style="width:20%"\|Round !scope="col" style="width:30%"\|Opposition !scope="col" style="width:30%"\|Venue !scope="col" style="width:20%"\|Score
rowspan="3"\|Group Stage \|{{leagueicon\|Leigh\|16}} Leigh Leopards \|Twist Lane \|52–4
{{leagueicon\|Hull kr\|16}} Hull KR \|Craven Park \|90–0
{{leagueicon\|Huddersfield\|16}} Huddersfield Giants \|West Park RUFC \|54–10
Quarter-final \|{{leagueicon\|Warrington\|16}} Warrington Wolves \|Headingley \|70–10{{cite web\|url=https://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/leeds-vs-warrington/60676 \|title=Leeds Rhinos Women 70 Warrington Wolves Women 10 \|website=Sky Sports}}
Semi-final \|{{leagueicon\|Wigan\|16}} Wigan Warriors \|Totally Wicked Stadium \|34–20{{cite web\|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/articles/ck7l7xv4egpo \|title=Leeds beat Wigan to book third straight final v Saints \|work=BBC Sport \|date=19 May 2024}}

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center; width: 75%;"

scope="col" style="width:20%"|Round

!scope="col" style="width:30%"|Opposition

!scope="col" style="width:30%"|Venue

!scope="col" style="width:20%"|Score

rowspan="3"|Group Stage

|{{leagueicon|Leigh|16}} Leigh Leopards

|Twist Lane

|52–4

{{leagueicon|Hull kr|16}} Hull KR

|Craven Park

|90–0

{{leagueicon|Huddersfield|16}} Huddersfield Giants

|West Park RUFC

|54–10

Quarter-final

|{{leagueicon|Warrington|16}} Warrington Wolves

|Headingley

|70–10{{cite web|url=https://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/leeds-vs-warrington/60676 |title=Leeds Rhinos Women 70 Warrington Wolves Women 10 |website=Sky Sports}}

Semi-final

|{{leagueicon|Wigan|16}} Wigan Warriors

|Totally Wicked Stadium

|34–20{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/articles/ck7l7xv4egpo |title=Leeds beat Wigan to book third straight final v Saints |work=BBC Sport |date=19 May 2024}}

=St Helens=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center; width: 75%;"
scope="col" style="width:20%"\|Round !scope="col" style="width:30%"\|Opposition !scope="col" style="width:30%"\|Venue !scope="col" style="width:20%"\|Score
rowspan="3"\|Group Stage \|{{leagueicon\|London\|16}} London Broncos \|Totally Wicked Stadium \|64–0
{{leagueicon\|Bradford\|16}} Bradford Bulls \|Odsal Stadium \|F–W/O
{{leagueicon\|Warrington\|16}} Warrington Wolves \|Dallam Playing Fields \|58–6
Quarter-final \|{{leagueicon\|Huddersfield\|16}} Huddersfield Giants \|Crusaders Park \|74–0{{cite web\|url=https://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/st-helens-vs-huddersfield/60675 \|title=St Helens Women 74 Huddersfield Giants Women 0 \|website=Sky Sports}}
Semi-final \|{{leagueicon\|York RLFC\|16}} York Valkyrie \|Eco-Power Stadium \|32–2{{cite web\|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/articles/c51n15v5j1qo \|title=St Helens beat York to reach Challenge Cup final \|work=BBC Sport \|date=18 May 2024}}

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center; width: 75%;"

scope="col" style="width:20%"|Round

!scope="col" style="width:30%"|Opposition

!scope="col" style="width:30%"|Venue

!scope="col" style="width:20%"|Score

rowspan="3"|Group Stage

|{{leagueicon|London|16}} London Broncos

|Totally Wicked Stadium

|64–0

{{leagueicon|Bradford|16}} Bradford Bulls

|Odsal Stadium

|F–W/O

{{leagueicon|Warrington|16}} Warrington Wolves

|Dallam Playing Fields

|58–6

Quarter-final

|{{leagueicon|Huddersfield|16}} Huddersfield Giants

|Crusaders Park

|74–0{{cite web|url=https://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/st-helens-vs-huddersfield/60675 |title=St Helens Women 74 Huddersfield Giants Women 0 |website=Sky Sports}}

Semi-final

|{{leagueicon|York RLFC|16}} York Valkyrie

|Eco-Power Stadium

|32–2{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/articles/c51n15v5j1qo |title=St Helens beat York to reach Challenge Cup final |work=BBC Sport |date=18 May 2024}}

Source:{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/articles/cy7390r1y04o |title=Wembley cup final gives women's game incentive |work=BBC Sport |date=17 May 2024}}

Pre-match

British singer Maxwell Thorpe sang the national anthem and Abide with Me ahead of the match. Thorpe was supported by British DJ Alex Simmons in providing the pre match entertainment.{{cite web | url=https://www.rugby-league.com/article/62729/katherine-jenkins-obe-to-perform-at-wembley-stadium-on-rugby-leagues-finals-day | title=Katherine Jenkins OBE to perform at Wembley Stadium on Rugby League's Finals Day |publisher=RFL |date=13 May 2024}}

Following the death of Rob Burrow on 2 June, the RFL announced that Rob's death be commemorated with a minute's silence before kick-off and with a minute's applause during the seventh minute of the game.{{cite news |last1=Bower |first1=Aaron |title=Challenge Cup final kick-off time moved to honour Rob Burrow at Wembley |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jun/05/rugby-league-challenge-cup-final-to-kick-off-at-307pm-in-honour-of-late-rob-burrow |access-date=5 June 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=5 June 2024}}

Before the game, the Year 7 School's Final was played. Wigan's St Peter's Catholic High School won against Cardiff's Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf.https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/rugby-league/orrells-st-peters-victorious-at-wembley-to-lift-the-steven-mullaney-memorial-trophy-4658388

Match details

{{rugbyleaguebox|bg=#f1f5fc

|date=Saturday, 8 June 2024

|time=11:45am BST

|team1= {{leagueicon|leeds|12}} Leeds Rhinos

|score= 0–22

|report=

|team2={{leagueicon|St Helens|12}} St Helens

|try1=

|goal1=

|try2= Gaskin, Hook, McColm, Crowl

|goal2= Gaskin (3/4)

|stadium=Wembley Stadium, London

|referee=Aaron Moore

|touch=Neil Horton, Beth Neilson

|attendance=

|manofmatch= Zoe Harris (St Helens)

}}

{{Rugby league match squad

| collapsed = n

| align = right

| hometeam = Leeds Rhinos

| homeBorder = yellow

| homeBGcolour = blue

| homeFGcolour = yellow

| awayteam = St Helens

| awayBorder = red

| awayBGcolour = white

| awayFGcolour = red

| squadsize = 18

| location = N

| abbr = n

| homeCoach = Lois Forsell

| homeFB = Ruby Enright

| homeFBnum = 1

| homeWG1 = Liv Whitehead

| homeWG1num = 18

| homeCE1 = Caitlin Beevers

| homeCE1num = 3

| homeCE2 = Amy Hardcastle

| homeCE2num = 4

| homeWG2 = Evie Cousins

| homeWG2num = 21

| homeSO = Hanna Butcher

| homeSOnum = 6

| homeSH = Caitlin Casey

| homeSHnum = 7

| homePR1 = Grace Field

| homePR1num = 19

| homeHK = Keara Bennett

| homeHKnum = 9

| homePR2 = Izzy Northrop

| homePR2num = 10

| homeSR1 = Shona Hoyle

| homeSR1num = 11

| homeSR2 = Lucy Murray

| homeSR2num = 17

| homeLF = Bella Sykes

| homeLFnum = 12

| homeIN1 = Sophie Robinson

| homeIN1num = 2

| homeIN2 = Zoe Hornby

| homeIN2num = 8

| homeIN3 = Bethan Dainton

| homeIN3num = 13

| homeIN4 = Ella Donnelly

| homeIN4num = 25

| homeIN5 = Jenna Greening

| homeIN5num = 22

| awayCoach = Matty Smith

| awayFB = Beri Salihi

| awayFBnum = 1

| awayWG1 = Phoebe Hook

| awayWG1num = 20

| awayCE1 = Erin Stott

| awayCE1num = 4

| awayCE2 = Luci McColm

| awayCE2num = 3

| awayWG2 = Leah Burke

| awayWG2num = 5

| awaySO = Zoe Harris

| awaySOnum = 6

| awaySH = Faye Gaskin

| awaySHnum = 7

| awayPR1 = Vicky Whitfield

| awayPR1num = 8

| awayHK = Tara Jones

| awayHKnum = 9

| awayPR2 = Chantelle Crowl

| awayPR2num = 10

| awaySR1 = Paige Travis

| awaySR1num = 11

| awaySR2 = Emily Rudge

| awaySR2num = 12

| awayLF = Jodie Cunningham

| awayLFnum = 13

| awayIN1 = Naomi Williams

| awayIN1num = 14

| awayIN2 = Darcy Stott

| awayIN2num = 16

| awayIN3 = Katie Mottershead

| awayIN3num = 19

| awayIN4 = Georgia Sutherland

| awayIN4num = 24

| awayIN5 = Philippa Birchall

| awayIN5num = 17

| source =

}}

The match officials were named on 4 June, with Aaron Moore as the referee, alongside Neil Horton, and Beth Neilson, the touch judges. Neilson became the first woman to be part of a senior final officiating team.{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Peter |title=Leeds referee appointed as 1895 and Challenge Cup final match officials confirmed |url=https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/leeds-referee-appointed-as-1895-and-challenge-cup-final-match-officials-confirmed-4652379 |access-date=6 June 2024 |work=Yorkshire Evening Post |date=4 June 2024}}{{efn|Caitlin Beevers refereed the Year 7 Schools Final in 2018.{{cite news |title=Champions Schools: Year Seven Boys Final |newspaper=Rugby Leaguer & League Express |issue=3,136 |page=21 |date=27 August 2018}}}}

Post-match

Following the game, the men's final was played along with the 2024 1895 Cup final. The men's game saw an 18–8 victory to Wigan Warriors against Warrington Wolves.{{Cite web |last=Fletcher |first=Charlotte |date=2024-06-08 |title=Warriors win Challenge Cup at Wembley |url=https://wiganwarriors.com/blog/2024/06/08/warriors-win-challenge-cup-at-wembley/ |access-date=2024-06-13 |website=Wigan Warriors |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |date=2024-06-08 |title=Challenge Cup final: Wigan beat Warrington at Wembley again |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-league/articles/c2jj1x7m71zo |access-date=2024-06-13 |website=BBC Sport |language=en-gb}}{{Cite web |title=Wigan dominate Warrington to secure Challenge Cup glory {{!}} Challenge Cup {{!}} The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/jun/08/warrington-wigan-challenge-cup-final-rugby-league-report |access-date=2024-06-13 |website=amp.theguardian.com}} The 1895 Cup final saw Wakefield Trinity beat Sheffield Eagles 50–6.{{Cite web |title=Match Report |url=https://www.rugby-league.com/match-centre/match-report/2280778 |access-date=2024-06-13 |website=www.rugby-league.com}}