Leeds Rhinos Women are a

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

team based in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The team is part of the

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headi ...

club and plays in the

Women's Super League The Women's Super League (WSL), currently known as the Barclays Women's Super League (BWSL) for sponsorship reasons, is the highest league of women's football in England. Established in 2010, it is run by the Football Association and features t ...

. They were the

RFL Women's Super League The Rugby Football League Women's Super League (known as the Betfred Women's Super League due to sponsorship) is the elite women's rugby league club competition in England. Originally competed between four teams in the 2017 season, the league has ...

champions in 2019 and 2022, and from 2023 they became the first semi-professional women's rugby league team in the UK.

History

The team was formed in September 2017 with the aid of the Leeds Rhinos Foundation. In December 2017 Rhino's forward,

Adam Cuthbertson Adam Cuthbertson (born 24 February 1985) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a and forward for the Featherstone Rovers in the Betfred Championship. He has previously played for the York City Knights ...

was appointed coach and

Lois Forsell Lois Forsell (born 26 July 1991) is a retired English international rugby league footballer who played as a for Leeds Rhinos Women in the Women's Super League. Forsell has also played for Bradford Bulls Women and Hunslet at club level, and has a ...

was named as captain in March 2018. In the team's first season, they won the

Women's Challenge Cup The Women's Challenge Cup is a rugby league knockout competition organised by the Rugby Football League. The competition started in 2012. History 2012–2016: Foundations The Women's Challenge Cup was set up in 2012 to run alongside the men's c ...

beating Castleford Tigers 20–14 in the final, at the

Halliwell Jones Stadium The Halliwell Jones Stadium is a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England, which is the home ground of the Warrington Wolves. It has also staged Challenge Cup semi-finals, the European Nations Final, the National League Grand Finals' Day, ...

, on 4 August 2018. They successfully retained their title, after beating Castleford Tigers 16–10 in the final, at the

University of Bolton Stadium The University of Bolton Stadium is the home ground of Bolton Wanderers F.C. in Horwich, Greater Manchester, England. Opening in 1997, it was named the Reebok Stadium, after club sponsors Reebok. In 2014, Bolton Wanderers signed a naming righ ...

, on 28 July 2019; in a repeat of the

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

final. In October they beat Castleford again 20–12 to win the Grand Final. Lois Forsell missed the 2019 season and was succeeded as captain by

Courtney Winfield-Hill Courtney Winfield-Hill (; born 9 January 1987) is an Australian born sportswoman who formerly played rugby league for and Leeds Rhinos Women, Leeds Rhinos. Originally Winfield-Hill played cricket as a Fast bowling, pace bowler for Queensland ...

. Forsell succeeded Cuthbertson as coach in February 2020. Winfield-Hill retired at the end of the 2022 season and was succeeded as captain by Hanna Butcher.

Seasons

Honours

League

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

:::Winners (2): 2019, 2022, :::Runners-up (1): 2018, ::League Leaders' Shield :::Winners (1): 2018, :::Runners-up (1): 2021,

Cups

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

::Winners (2): 2018, 2019 * Women's Nines ::Winners (1): 2023

References

{{RFL Women's Super League Leeds Rhinos 2017 establishments in England Rugby clubs established in 2017 Sport in Leeds Women's rugby league teams in England RFL Women's Super League teams