Read the Round Three review!
The quarter-finalists of the Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup have been confirmed following the final round of group stage fixtures with London Broncos stunning Super League’ Barrow Raiders in an epic showdown on Sunday afternoon.
Both Barrow and the Broncos knew that a win for either side would guarantee them a place in the next round of the competition – and it was the visitors who progressed into the knockouts for the first time in their history.
Amanda Wilkinson’s side took the lead thanks to a Chloe Capstick try on 14 minutes but despite the early setback, the Broncos went in at half-time with a narrow lead through a Jade Walker try after 28 minutes.
The capital side increased that lead just minutes after the restart when Nicole Kennedy cut through 60 metres out and outpaced the Barrow defence to go in between the posts.
But Barrow hit back with a try from Nicole Stewart, who then duly added the conversion to make it 12-10 but the Broncos kept pressing and when strong defensive work bundled the home side into touch ten metres out, they used the territory with Jade Coleman going in.
Barrow came close to levelling matters five minutes later when Vanessa Temple was on the end of a quick play to power over.
The Broncos made sure of the game with three minutes remaining when Lauren Mueller scored, with Salter tagging on the two.
St Helens put in a dominant second-half performance to see off a determined Cardiff Demons and claim top spot in Group A.
The first half was almost perfectly matched and a neutral might have found it hard to tell that this was a game between the Challenge Cup holders and a Championship side.
The second half, however, was a different story as Saints dominated the Demons in a contest between teams already sure of quarter-final spots with the Red V scoring ten unanswered tries to walk away 54-0 winners.
Huddersfield Giants marched into the Challenge Cup final eight with a dominant performance over Featherstone Rovers, inspired by a Mollie Iceton hat-trick.
Iceton dotted down three times in challenging circumstances to ensure the Giants progressed as runners-up from Group B.
With both sides losing out to York in their opening games, this was a straight shoot-out to progress to the quarter-finals and an away tie with Leeds.
Despite the scoreline, Rovers started the brighter of the two sides, with Brogan Churm showing some nice touches whilst Hannah Watt was held up over the line.
But it wasn’t meant to be with the visitors getting better as the game went on and further scores from Amelia Brown, Millie Taylor and Lois Naidole sealing a 36-8 victory.
Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup Group Stage results:
Sunday 6 April
Warrington Wolves 14 Cardiff Demons 42
Saturday 12 April
St Helens 102 Warrington Wolves 0
Saturday 19 April
Cardiff Demons 0 St Helens 54
Group B
Sunday 6 April
Huddersfield Giants 0 York Valkyrie 56
Sunday 13 April
York Valkyrie 54 Featherstone Rovers 6
Friday 18 April
Featherstone Rovers 8 Huddersfield Giants 36
Group C
Saturday 5 April
Leeds Rhinos 4 Leigh Leopards 46
Saturday 12 April
Sheffield Eagles 0 Leeds Rhinos 104
Group D
Sunday 6 April
Wigan Warriors 84 Barrow Raiders 0
Sunday 13 April
London Broncos 0 Wigan Warriors 44
Sunday 20 April
Barrow Raiders 14 London Broncos 22
Betfred Women's Challenge Cup quarter-final fixtures (Details TBC):
St Helens v London Broncos
York Valkyrie v Leigh Leopards
Leeds Rhinos v Huddersfield Giants
Cardiff Demons v Wigan Warriors
The Betfred Women's Challenge Cup is part of a Finals Day triple-header at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 7 June, alongside the finals of the Men's 2025 Betfred Challenge Cup Final and AB Sundecks 1895 Cup Final. Plus, there will be the traditional Year 7 Boys’ Champion Schools Final. Tickets are on sale now!
Photo Credit: Barrow Raiders
