Warrington Wolves
Club information
Full nameWarrington Wolves Rugby League Football Club
Colours Yellow, Blue and White
Founded2018 (2018)
WebsiteWarrington Wolves
Current details
Ground(s)
  • Victoria Park, Warrington
CompetitionRFL Women's Super League
20235th (Super League: Group 1)
Current season
Records
Championship1 (2019)
Super League Shield1 (2022)

Warrington Wolves are an English women's rugby league team from Warrington, Cheshire. They compete in the RFL Women's Super League, playing their home games at Victoria Park and some games at the Halliwell Jones Stadium; the home of the Warrington Wolves men's team.

History

In November 2018, it was announced that Warrington Wolves were to launch a women's team and that team trials had been organised to take place in December.[1] The club had previously had a women's team that played in the Women's Rugby League Conference and the 2012 Women's Challenge Cup.[2] It also had girls' teams for several age groups;[3] Emily Rudge had been with the U16s when selected for the England squad for the 2008 World Cup.[4] The community coach at Warrington, Lee Westwood, said the women's team would "provide a pathway for all girls from 11 years old to open age".[1] For their first season the team entered the Championship with the aim of joining the Super League in 2020.[1] Despite losing their first match of the season 28–20 at Barrow,[5] Warrington defeated Widnes 40–10 the following week[6] and went on to finish top of the Championship.[7] A 36–4 victory over Huddersfield Giants in the play-off semi-final saw Warrington progress to the final on 12 October in which they defeated Barrow 40–4 to take the Championship title.[8][9] Their top four finish in the league meant that they, along with Huddersfield, were accepted into the Super League for the following season.[10] In the Challenge Cup Warrington reached the quarter-finals before being knocked out by eventual winners Leeds Rhinos.[11]

In 2020, Warrington were to face Barrow again, this time in the second round of the Challenge Cup.[12] However, a week before the match the RFL suspended all competitions.[13] The cancellation of the women's 2020 season was announced in August.[14] This included the Super League in which Warrington had been due to make their debut on 29 March against Wigan Warriors.[15] The following season, on 18 April 2021, Warrington played their first Super League game and lost 52–8 to Wigan.[16] Their first win, 44–8 over Huddersfield, came in Round 5 of the season.[17] After finishing the regular season in 8th place, Warrington took part in the Shield competition, but lost 30–26 to Huddersfield after golden point extra time in the semi-final[18] Warrington reached the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup but lost 6–26 to Castleford Tigers.[19]

In 2022, there was a new format for the Challenge Cup that introduced a group stage from which Warrington advanced to the quarter-finals where they were defeated by Leeds.[20][21] The structure of the Super League season also changed and Warrington were placed in Group 2 of the competition.[22] Warrington finished the regular season top of their group by winning all 12 matches including a 102–0 victory over Wakefield Trinity.[23][24] Warrington then claimed the Shield by winning 72–0 over Bradford Bulls in the semi-final and 34–6 over Featherstone Rovers in the final to earn promotion to Group 1 for the 2023 Super League season.[23][25] In 2023, Warrington reached the quarter-finals of the Challenge Cup for a four successive campaign.[26] Lee Westwood stepped down from his role as head coach at the end of the 2023 season and was succeeded by former player and team captain Armani Sharrock.[27]

Seasons

Season League Play-offs Challenge Cup Ref.
Division P W D L F A Pts Pos
2019 Championship 1413015728426 1st Won in Final QF [7][8][11][28]
2020 Super League Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic [14]
2021 Super League 82061503344 8th Did not qualify QF [18][19][28]
Super League Shield 4202148684 3rd Lost in Semi-final
2022 Super League (G2) 1212007443624 1st Won in Shield Final QF [21][23][29]
2023 Super League 102171284505 5th Did not qualify QF [30][26]

Honours

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Warrington Wolves launch women's team". Rugby-League.com. 21 November 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  2. ↑ "Warrington Women & Girls". Women's Rugby League. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012.
  3. ↑ "Girls' Rugby League fixtures 9th and 16th March". 4 The Love Of Sport. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  4. ↑ "England Women". England Rugby League. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008.
  5. ↑ "Women's Rugby League round-up". Rugby-League.com. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  6. ↑ "Women's Rugby League Round-Up". Rugby-League.com. 15 April 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 "Betfred Women's Super League Grand Final Preview". Rugby-League.com. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 "Another late Leeds show sets up Challenge Cup Final rematch". Rugby-League.com. 6 October 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  9. ↑ "Warrington and Keighley triumph on Women's Finals Day". Rugby-League.com. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  10. ↑ "Giants and Wolves to join Betfred Women's Super League in 2020". Rugby-League.com. 8 November 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  11. 1 2 "Coral Women's Challenge Cup Quarter Final Round-Up". Rugby-League.com. 23 June 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  12. ↑ "Hull KR to host Hull FC in Coral Women's Challenge Cup second round". Rugby-League.com. 8 March 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  13. ↑ "RFL and Super League joint statement on season suspension". Rugby-League.com. 16 March 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  14. 1 2 "Covid-19 forces cancellation of Women's Competitions in 2020". Rugby-League.com. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  15. ↑ "2020 Betfred Women's Super League fixtures released". Rugby-League.com. 12 January 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  16. ↑ "Wilson scores 28 points in impressive Wigan win". Rugby-League.com. 18 April 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  17. ↑ "Betfred Women's Super League round-up". Rugby-League.com. 14 June 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  18. 1 2 "Giants Women reach final in golden point thriller". Huddersfield Giants. 30 September 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  19. 1 2 "York claim Cup semi-final spot". Rugby-League.com. 9 May 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  20. ↑ "A new format, a new final venue - Why we should look forward to the 2022 Women's Challenge Cup". Rugby League News. 11 December 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  21. 1 2 "England Watch | Women - Challenge Cup quarter-finals". Rugby-League.com. 11 April 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  22. ↑ "Betfred Women's Super League Fixtures 2022". Rugby-League.com. 18 January 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  23. 1 2 3 4 "Betfred Women's Super League Round-Up | September 12". Rugby-League.com. 12 September 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  24. ↑ "Betfred Women's Super League Round-Up | July 31". Rugby-League.com. 1 August 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  25. ↑ "Betfred Women's Super League Grand Final and Shield Final Round-Up". Rugby-League.com. 20 September 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  26. 1 2 "Women's Challenge Cup: Holders St Helens, Wigan Warriors and York Valkyrie seal quarter-final wins". BBC Sport. 18 June 2023. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  27. ↑ "Armani Sharrock named new Women's Head Coach". Warrington Wolves. 4 October 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  28. 1 2 "Match Centre". Rugby-League.com. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  29. ↑ "Betfred Women's Super League Table". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  30. ↑ "Betfred Women's Super League Table". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 11 September 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
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