St Helens defeated Leeds Rhinos to set up a repeat of the 2025 Challenge Cup Final, where they will take on Wigan Warriors.
Saints took on Leeds Rhinos at Doncaster’s Eco-Power Stadium today in the curtain-raiser for the men’s semi-final between Hull KR and Warrington Wolves, that game being a repeat of last year’s final at Wembley.
St Helens will remember that day at Wembley as they were defeated heavily by rivals Wigan Warriors, who had already booked their Wembley trip this year after beating York Valkyrie on Saturday in a statement 52-0 win.
As such both Saints and Leeds knew what was at stake when they faced off today and it was St Helens who came out on top with the Red Vee seeking a sixth straight Challenge Cup final appearance.
They were on a four-game winning run in the Challenge Cup Final until last year when Wigan hammered them 42-6 and Saints will now get a chance to avenge that after beating Leeds Rhinos 30-14.
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St Helens make sixth straight Challenge Cup Final
St Helens opened the scoring up through Erin McDonald inside 20 minutes and they doubled their lead through Zoe Harris inside the half hour mark, a 12-0 lead that they took into the half.
Gasking then crossed over immediately after the restart before converting her own try to make it 18-0, with Emily Rudge’s converted try ten minutes later stretching the lead to 24-0.
At that point it seemed obvious that St Helens were heading to Wembley but Leeds began to apply the pressure as tries from Connie Boyd, Ruby Enright and Liv Whitehead all came within a 15-minute period.
Ultimately, it was too little too late and Saints made sure of the result as Erin McDonald, who scored the opener, scored the last as she barged over in the dying minutes to cement the 30-18 result.
It also means it’s the second year in a row that we’ll be treated to a Wigan Warriors and St Helens final with that game to be played before the men’s Challenge Cup Final, which will take place between Wigan and one of Hull KR or Warrington Wolves.
.@Saints1890Women hold off a second half Rhinos fight to secure their place in the @Betfred Women’s #ChallengeCup Final 👏 pic.twitter.com/S1eahZw5o1
— Betfred Challenge Cup (@TheChallengeCup) May 10, 2026
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