York Valkyrie up to third place after 16-12 victory at Wigan Warriors

Rising stars Izzy Brennan and Lisa Parker both found the whitewash for Lindsay Anfield’s side as they atoned for their disappointing 18-10 defeat to the Warriors at the LNER Community Stadium in July.

The top-four clash, moved to Leigh Miners Rangers due to pitch renovations at Robin Park, was played out in atrocious conditions, with both sides forced to revert back to basics in their attempts to navigate through the pouring rain.

But despite falling behind to Molly Jones’ first-minute effort, it was York who took the opportunities presented to them, moving above Wigan and into third.

Tries from Parker and Brennan had the game turned on its head by the 15-minute mark, the latter then scoring a penalty before Wigan were forced to see out the remainder of the half with 12 players after Eva Hunter’s sin-bin.

York could not capitalise on their numerical advantage, but still held a 12-6 lead at the break.

Once play resumed Brennan added another four points from the tee to widen the Valkyrie’s advantage to 10 points, and though Grace Banks left Wigan with a glimmer of hope late on, the visitors’ defence held out to record a fifth successive away win against their opponents.

With St Helens having wrapped up the League Leaders’ Shield, it is now all to play for in the fight for a home play-off tie.

The Valkyrie are level with Leeds Rhinos on 20 points apiece ahead of the final round of fixtures, pitting the Rhinos against Wigan, and the Valkyrie against a Featherstone side that they have already scored over 200 points against this season.

York will have to overturn Leeds’ 67-point difference cushion, should both sides win their final match, to move into second place.

Anfield made one enforced change to her starting line-up, with Brennan making her first start at hooker as Georgie Hetherington switched to full-back in place of captain Tara Jane Stanley, ruled out for the remainder of the season with an ACL injury.

Jess Sharp and Remi Wilton came onto the bench alongside forwards Rhiannion Marshall and Kelsey Gentles.

Hunter and Jenna Foubister, who both scored in the reverse fixture, were handed starts for Wigan alongside Women’s Super League top-scorer Anna Davies and experienced forward Vicky Molyneux.

York made the worst possible start in the pouring rain, seeing their defence breached from the very first set after Foubister had sent Hunter through a gap in their defence.

The second-rower then fed Jones to touch down next to the posts, with Isabel Rowe adding the extras with ease to hand her side an early six-point advantage.

The Valkyrie looked for a swift response after a Wigan knock-on, but then themselves came up with an error as the hosts survived.

Izzy Brennan scored York's first try after crashing over from close range. (Image: Alan Milner/Milner Creative/York RLFC)

However, they couldn’t be stopped for long, with Brennan crashing over from close range in the ninth minute to bring the scores back within two.

With the rain pouring down, Anfield’s side nudged themselves in front on the quarter-hour, again taking advantage of a Wigan mistake in the atrocious conditions.

Winning a repeat set, an overlap sent Parker across on the right edge, with Brennan tagging on the extras to hand the visitors a 10-6 lead.

Tamzin Renouf, turning out in the halves for a second consecutive week, was the next to fall victim to the conditions with an error on the 20-metre line, but despite York then giving away a penalty for a high tackle on Grace Banks on halfway, Mary Coleman’s attempted left-side switch went to ground.

Handling errors were aplenty. (Image: Alan Milner/Milner Creative/York RLFC)

Instead, the Valkyrie extended their lead from the tee, Brennan opting to take the points on offer from a penalty on the 20-metre line.

Things looked to have bettered still for the visitors when Lacey Owen chased through a kick to touch down 12 minutes before the break, but after a lengthy discussion, the try was chalked off for an offside in the build-up.

Shortly after the half-hour, Wigan were temporarily down to 12 players, with Hunter sent to the sin bin after she had collided with winger Emma Kershaw in the air.

However, despite their numerical advantage, York could not find another way through some determined Wigan defence, failing to build on their 12-6 lead before the interval.

The hosts looked to have found a quick response when the second-half kick-off was spilled, but the Valkyrie were able to shepherd Rowe’s grubber out for a 20-metre restart.

A mistake then handed Denis Betts’ side another fantastic opportunity from a scrum 30 metres from the line, however York’s defence held firm.

With the ball like a bar of soap, the sides traded errors, but it was the visitors who nudged themselves further ahead in the 48th minute, again opting to take the points on offer after interference at the play-the-ball.

The majority of York's points came from the tee as both sides struggled in the heavy rain. (Image: Alan Milner/Milner Creative/York RLFC)

Megan Pakulis proved a constant handful for the Wigan defence, knocking-on over the line before being brought down narrowly short minutes later.

York’s next points though again came from the tee after the Warriors had conceded a penalty for a high tackle in front of the posts.

Owen and Marshall both failed to take in passes close to the line as the Valkyrie looked to build some consistency before Renouf was left wondering what might have been after she let Savannah Andrade’s pass slip through her fingers as she looked set to score.

Instead, Wigan offered themselves a glimmer of hope, setting up a tense final five minutes after Rowe’s perfectly weighted kick on the last was spilled.

Going left from the resultant scrum, Banks backed herself from 30 metres, rounding York’s defence to score next to the posts.

Rowe again converted, but it was too little, too late, as the Valkyrie held on for victory.

WIGAN WARRIORS: Banks, Davies, Wilson, Jones, Derbyshire, Rowe, Foubister, Speakman, Marsh, Coleman, Hunter, Molyneux, Thompson.

INTERCHANGES: Gregory-Haselden, Hilton, Jones, Hunter

TRIES: Jones (1), Banks (75)

GOALS: Rowe 2/2

SIN BIN: Hunter (in-air collision, 33)

YORK VALKYRIE: Hetherington, Partington, Parker, Izumi, Kershaw, Rihari, Renouf, Wood, Brennan, Bell, Owen, Andrade, Pakulis.

INTERCHANGES: Marshall, Gentles, Sharp, Wilton

TRIES: Brennan (9), Parker (15)

GOALS: Brennan 4/5

POINTS SEQUENCE: 4-0, 6-0, 6-4, 6-8, 6-10, 6-12, 6-14, 6-16, 10-16, 12-16

HALF TIME: 6-12

YORK’S STAR WOMAN: Georgie Hetherington.