Wigan achieve seven-try win over St Helens to earn their first Women's Challenge Cup trophy
Wigan have earned their first Betfred Women's Challenge Cup trophy at Wembley after a 42-6 win against long time rivals St Helens.
Izzy Rowe led her team to a win by scoring 18 points against the four-time defending champions St Helen.
Their thumping 42-6 win brought Wigan their first major trophy since the 2018 Grand Final and confirmed a seismic shift in the balance of power in the women's game with once-dominant Saints second-best in every department.
Rowe's magnificent contribution included the first try of the second half and a perfect record of seven conversions including a looping effort from the touchline that put the seal on a stunning personal display.
Wigan, given a major overhaul under head coach Denis Betts this season, were irresistible from the off and to add to Saints' woes, it was their former player Megan Williams who opened the scoring after getting on the end of Rowe's short pass.
Error-strewn Saints missed a golden chance to level when Amy Hardcastle knocked on in front of the posts, and Wigan doubled their advantage midway through the first half when Mary Coleman raced through for her side's second.
St Helens dug deep to barge the dangerous Anna Davies into touch but the wave of Wigan attacks continued and they moved further clear just past the half-hour when Papua New Guinea international Emily Veivers went over on the diagonal to give them an 18-0 half-time lead.
The interval brought brief respite for Saints, with Rowe soon extending her side's lead before the holders finally got on the scoresheet when Katie Mottershead burrowed over from dummy half, with Faye Gaskin converting.
The brief revival was ended on the hour mark when Eva Hunter punctured the Saints rearguard and further tries from Grace Banks, who roared over from 65 metres out, and Davies completed the rout.
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