In the international weekend, our club was well-represented with eleven players featuring on the field, with two Saints in the coaching set-ups too!
England Women kicked off a double header of match action at AMT Headingley Stadium in Leeds against Wales, with six of our 2024 double trophy winning Saints in the English camp, and one on the Welsh side.
Jodie Cunningham led out five of her teammates and the rest of the England Women who were looking to maintain their strong run of form over Wales in recent years. Cunningham put in a polished performance, setting up four of the tries with her assists.
Red V prop Vicky Whitfield and our hooker Katie Mottershead both came off the bench, with Katie going over the whitewash with a remarkable 40m try straight from dummy half, picking up the ball and avoiding several defenders.
Erin Stott started at centre for her international debut and made it one to remember with an assist and a try of her own. Zoe Harris and Paige Travis also started in Stuart Barrow’s match day thirteen, Harris at half and Travis in the back-row and the later grabbed a brace of scores, even getting a cheeky celebration in before ground her first.
Dani McGifford was the sole Saint in the Wales side, marking her international debut and closing out a memorable year for the winger, who is only in her second season in the sport of rugby league.
It was a special occasion despite the scoreline for McGifford, and she had the support of the recently retired Faye Gaskin who served as the Assistant Coach for Wales, an honour she described as one of her proudest moments this year.
The second act of the double header in Leeds saw England take on Samoa in a second Test, looking to complete a full victory of the Series.
Our four Saints men’s players were joined in camp by our new Assistant Coach Lee Briers, who will shortly begin his first pre-season back at his hometown club following two seasons in the NRL with the Brisbane Broncos. Briers began working alongside England Head Coach Shaun Wane last autumn and has played his part in back-to-back series victories over Tonga last year, and Samoa this year.
Jack Welsby, Daryl Clark and Matty Lees all started for England in both Tests, with Morgan Knowles in both fixtures coming off the bench as well.
All four England Saints showed their worth with Clark controlling the play around the ruck, Lees showing his typical high energy work in the middle, while Knowles rotated well with Victor Radley in the loose-forward position to keep the intensity rolling in the heat of battle.
Welsby on the day finished off a slick move by Herbie Farnworth, with the NRL’s Dally M Centre of the Year cutting through Samoa’s defence and our ‘Super Jack’ running a perfect supporting line to get a pass and go under the sticks. England ran out 34-16 winners in the end, earning a 2-0 Test Series win.
All four of our Saints enjoyed the moment together on the field with the rest of the team, and then in the changing rooms after the match where they had a photo with the Test Series Shield together.
